Russia says it destroyed Ukrainian central command unit near Bakhmut

Russia's defense ministry said on Thursday (April 20) it had hit what it referred to as the Bakhmut Central Command Unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. No details of the operation were provided, which ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said had taken place near the settlement of Konstiantynivka located about 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) southwest of Bakhmut in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Ukraine has not commented on the reports. Reuters was unable to independently verify this information. Russian forces have stepped up heavy artillery bombardments and air strikes on the devastated Ukrainian city in recent days. Fighting has raged in and around Bakhmut in Donetsk region for months, with Ukrainian forces holding out despite regular claims by Russia to have taken the majority of the city. If Russian forces captured Bakhmut it could provide a stepping stone for an advance on two bigger cities it has long coveted in the Donetsk region - Kramatorsk and Sloviansk - as well as providing a Russian victory after a series of setbacks in what Moscow casts as its "special military operation" in Ukraine.