[1/4] A Ukrainian service member prepares to shoot from a howitzer at a front line, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the city of Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine March 2, 2023.
Russian forces have been attacking Bakhmut in Donetsk province for months, sometimes in waves and the site has become one of the bloodiest battles of the war.
Ukraine says the city has limited strategic value but wants to exhaust Russian forces.
Russian shelling hit Bakhmut and several nearby towns - including Chasiv Yar, the biggest town to the west - and two towns south of Bakhmut, it said.
In central Zaporizhzhia region and in Kherson region on the southern front, Russian forces shelled more than 40 towns and villages, the Ukrainian military statement said.