Ukraine's Bakhmut evacuates as Russia claims to be nearing

Olena Morozova had endured months of bombardment in what has become the most gruelling battle of the war in Ukraine for the city of Bakhmut, but on Thursday, she said she had finally had enough.

"You go out into the yard -- bullets whistle over your head. My hands are shaking. I couldn't stand it anymore," she told AFP at a humanitarian hub as she waited alongside her belongings to be evacuated.

Her son had begged the 69-year-old to leave the besieged town, where a few thousand residents out of the pre-war 70,000-strong population shelter in basements and rely on aid.

Fighting in and around Bakhmut has been fierce and grinding, particularly on the eastern side of the Bakhmutka river that bisects the city. But, in recent days, Russia has said its forces have made another push in the city, having taken the nearby town of Soledar.

"I thought about going two weeks ago, but I couldn't decide," Morozova said. "And now we know that they (the Russians) are already approaching, they are already on the border of the city, not far from us, and we did not want their presence in our lives."

While many residents had been holding out in the face of near-constant shelling, Tetyana Scherbak, said more people were leaving in recent days.

Scherbak, 51, is a volunteer with the non-profit Unity of People group which has set up humanitarian hubs in the city.

"There are a lot more people to evacuate because the number of attacks increased," she said. "The Russians came very close to the city, so there has been a lot more destruction and many houses were destroyed," she said, adding that freezing temperatures have forced out some residents.

"It's winter now. People stayed as long as they had homes."

But leaving has its own...