Fighting intensifies for ruined city of Bakhmut as Kremlin seeks major battlefield gain

Fighting intensified for the ruined city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine as Russian president Vladimir Putin told his country's FSB security service to tighten control over the border between the warring neighbours and prevent "scum" from destabilising his country. Moscow-installed officials in occupied parts of Donetsk region said Russian forces were pushing into Bakhmut, which has been at the epicentre of fighting in eastern Ukraine for several months as the Kremlin seeks its first major battlefield gain since last summer. "In the Bakhmut direction the situation is getting more and more difficult. The enemy is constantly destroying everything that can…