A group of civilians who were forced to flee their homes in Bakhmut are visibly distressed as they emerge from an armoured vehicle in the frontline town of Chasiv Yar, Bakhmut district, carrying only a few belongings with them. An accompanying group of soldiers help them load their bags on to an evacuation pick-up truck. One woman, who gave her name as Lyuba, cries as she holds on to her chihuahua, Margot, asking "Are there any civilians left (in Bakhmut)?" Numerous tanks and armoured personnel carriers were rolling through the town, coming back and forth from the front. The fight for the industrial city of Bakhmut has become the longest and bloodiest battle of Russia's year-long assault on Ukraine. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES