Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the allies recognize that in addition to training, Ukraine will also need to be able to sustain and maintain the aircraft and have enough munitions.

Ukraine’s deputy defense minister said Thursday that regular Russian troops had replaced Wagner units in the suburbs but that Wagner fighters remained inside the city.

Analysts believe many of those killed in the 9-month fight for Bakhmut were Russian convicts with little military training.

The militias, called the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Legion of Free Russia, are composed of ethnic Russian fighters, including Russian citizens, who oppose Putin and say they are working to ‘liberate’ their homeland.

Neither version of events could be independently verified in an area that has witnessed sporadic spillover from the almost 15-month war in Ukraine.

Responding to a reporter’s question about the status of the city at the Group of Seven summit in Japan, Zelensky said: ‘Bakhmut is not occupied by the Russian Federation as of today.’

If Russian forces have taken control of Bakhmut, they will still face the massive task of seizing the remaining part of the Donetsk region still under Ukrainian control.

Bolstering international support is a key priority as Ukraine prepares for what’s seen as a major push to take back territory seized by Russia.