Russia-Ukraine war: Zelenskiy denies US and Europe pushing for peace talks – as it happened

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AFP has just posted a report from near the war-battered town of Bakhmut - which Ukraine is attempting to retake - quoting a Ukrainian soldier with a grim assessment of the conflict.

I've been saying that for some time now already. Step by step we're losing the war," the serviceman, who uses the call sign Mudryi" (Wise), told AFP. The longer this static war continues, the worse it is for us."