Kiev: If Russian forces prevail in a bloody battle for the city of Artyomovsk, they will have "open roads" to more Kiev-controlled areas of Donbass, according to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.

He denied reports that his senior general had advised him to withdraw troops from the area.

Since August, a battle has raged for Artyomovsk, also known as Bakhmut in Ukraine. The fortress serves as a logistics center in the Donetsk People's Republic and an important base for Kiev's troops. According to Zelensky, the fighting was "tactical for us", CNN's Wolf Blitzer reported.

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We understand that he had room to move on after Bakhmut. After Bakhmut, the Russians would have access to other Ukrainian cities in the Donetsk direction. They could travel to Kramatorsk or Slavyansk.

Zelensky said that should the Russian army take the city, it would "mobilize their society" and increase public support for the Russian army.

The country's top commander, General Valery Zaluzny, requested the withdrawal weeks ago, according to German newspaper Bild on Monday, according to Ukrainian government sources.

The same day, a statement from Zelensky's office claimed that Zaluzny and other senior officers supported the decision to continue defending the city.

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In an interview with CNN, Zelensky denied claims that he was at odds with his superiors. He insisted that such reports "were made in the Russian Federation," adding, "I've never heard anything like this."

According to Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian private military company Wagner Group, the eastern part of Artyomovsk, divided from the rest of the city by the Bakhmutka River, has been completely under the control of its fighters.

Before now, Prigozhin had claimed that Russian troops had virtually surrounded Artyomovsk, leaving only one way open for Ukrainian forces to enter and exit the city.

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This week, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin argued that the importance of Artyomovsk was more symbolic than practical. Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu insisted that the capture of the city would open the door for "further offensive actions" against Ukrainian forces.