The battle for Bakhmut has lasted 6 months and reduced the city with a prewar population of more than 70,000 to a smoldering wasteland.

The video, which Ukraine says shows the killing of an unarmed prisoner of war by Russian speakers, circulated widely on social media in Ukraine and unleashed an outcry.

Police and volunteers evacuated people from Chasiv Yar and other front-line towns in an operation made difficult by the loss of bridges and constant artillery fire that has left barely a house standing.

Russian forces have spent months trying to capture the city as part of their offensive in eastern Ukraine, and the area has seen some of the bloodiest ground fighting of the war.

The discovery came shortly after Ukraine marked the first anniversary of President Vladimir Putin’s invasion, which initially sought to topple the Ukrainian government and capture the capital Kyiv.