NEAR BAKHMUT, Ukraine --- The Ukrainian military and Russia's Wagner private army both reported further Russian retreats around the city of Bakhmut on Thursday, as Kyiv pressed on with its biggest advance for six months ahead of a planned counteroffensive. Ukrainian troops near the front line said Russia was bombarding access roads to slow the Ukrainian assault, which has shifted the momentum after months of slow Russian gains in Europe's deadliest ground combat since World War Two. "Now, for the most part, as we have started to advance, they are shelling all the routes to front positions, so our armored vehicles can't deliver more infantry, ammunition, and other things," said ...Keep on reading: Russian forces in retreat near Bakhmut, Ukraine and Wagner say