The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenski stated that if the Russians conquer Bakhmut, he will be forced to compromise with Putin.

He warns that if Ukraine does not win the Battle of Bakhmut, Russia could begin providing international support for a deal that could require Ukraine to make unacceptable compromises. He also invited the leader of China to visit Ukraine. Jinping has not spoken to Zelensky since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February last year, but China recently released a 12-point plan for a political solution to the war.

If Bakhmut falls into the hands of the Russian forces, their president Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin "he will sell this victory to the West, to his society, to China, to Iran," Zelensky said in an exclusive interview with Associated Press.

"If he smells a little blood - he smells that we are weak - he will push, push, push." ​​Our society will feel tired. Our society will force me to compromise with him, said Zelenski.

Bakhmut is at the center of months of fighting in eastern Ukraine, with both Russia and Ukraine claiming to have inflicted heavy losses on the other side. Despite some military analysts suggesting the city is strategically insignificant, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has admitted that defeat in the city could force him to compromise with Vladimir Putin.

Zelensky did not predict how the war would end, but he says he is confident that Ukraine will be able to achieve victory through a series of small steps. He also believes that the war made Ukrainian society stronger.