why countries in east asia and the pacific region are among the worst affected. we start in ukraine where a battlefield commander in the eastern town of bakhmut has told the bbc that the fighting is ferocious. a us official has said russian forces have made incremental advances around the town, with mercenaries from the russian paramilitary wagner group heavily involved in the assault. the battle has been described as a meat grinder with high numbers of casualties on both sides. almost all of the city s 70 thousand occupants have fled. russia is working hard to capture bakhmut in the hope it could lead to the fall of sloviansk and krama torsk as well the two most important cities in the donbas still under ukrainian control. but ukrainian forces are holding firm. the bbc s yogita limaye reports from the city. this is what the merciless bombardment of a city looks like. and how it sounds. once a quiet place known for sparkling wine, bakhmut is now a byword for war. and
paid their last respects to the former pope benedict 16th before his funeral at the vatican on thursday. it s seven in the morning in singapore, and one in the morning in ukraine, where a ukrainian battlefield commander in the eastern town of bakhmut has told the bbc that the fighting there is ferocious. a us official has said russian forces have made incremental advances around the town, with mercenaries from the russian paramilitary wagner group heavily involved in the assault. the battle has been described as a meat grinder with high numbers of casualties on both sides. almost all of the city s 70 thousand occupants have fled. russia is working hard to capture bakhmut in the hope it could lead to the fall of sloviansk and krama torsk as well the two most important cities in the donbas still under ukrainian control. but ukrainian forces are holding firm. the bbc s yogita limaye reports from the city. this is what the merciless bombardment of a city looks like. a
blocks completely destroyed, we are walking all over shards of glass pretty much every second you hear the sound of artillery fire. you can tell every minute of that this is a city that is being intensely fought over. and over the past few months, of fierce battle, even though it s had an important road intersection, it s the symbolic importance of this fight that has become greater than its strategic location. bakhmut of the home anatoly has known all his life. we see him barely react when a shell land is a few when a shell lands a few hundred metres away. he has come to a centre, a lifeline for those still here. why don t you leave, we asked him?
you can see apartment blocks completely destroyed, we are walking all over shards of glass pretty much every second you hear the sound of artillery fire. you can tell every minute of that this is a city that is being intensely fought over. and over the past few months, of fierce battle, even though it s had an important road intersection, it s the symbolic importance of this fight that has become greater than its strategic location. bakhmut of the home anatoly has known all his life. we see him barely react when a shell land is a few hundred metres away. he has come to a centre, a lifeline for those still here. why don t you leave, we asked him? translation: i have nowhere to go.