Will China step in to end the war as Putin's forces fumble?

Ukraine's soldiers trained at a shooting range near Bakhmut, where Ukrainian and Russian forces on Thursday battled in the streets.

In footage released Wednesday, Ukrainian Border Service Spokesperson Levko Stek said the fighting has not let up.

"The intensity of Russian artillery attacks did not decrease, which you can hear right now, walking through the town's streets. Shelling accompanies our movements all the time. You can hear it for yourselves. Also, one can see it (artillery attack intensity) on the residential buildings: We're now in a neighbourhood with five-storey buildings, and they're all damaged to some degree."

Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts continue to try to resolve the conflict. During a visit to Beijing Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron urged Chinese leader Xi Jinping to use his influence to persuade Russia to halt the war and come to the negotiating table.

“The Russian aggression in Ukraine has dealt a blow to this stability. It ended decades of peace in Europe. I know I can count on you – moreover under the two principles I have just mentioned - to bring Russia to its senses and everyone to the negotiating table. And we will come back to this in detail, but we need to find a lasting peace, that is to say a peace that respects internationally recognized borders and avoids any form of escalation. I believe that this is also an important question for China as much as it is for France and for Europe.”

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