 Ukrainian soldiers fired mortars at Russian positions near Bakhmut on May 18, saying Russian activity in the area has risen over the last week. According to soldiers manning it, up to 100 mortar shells are fired daily from a position near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. It is hard to push them out of there. But it is fine, we are working. It is good that they can't find us, we fire at them, and they return fire on some other greeneries, said a soldier who goes by the call sign Medved, Ukrainian forbear. Another soldier, Ruslan, said he thought Russian forces in the area were well armed and in high numbers. The head of Russian mercenaries fighting in Bakhmut said the city was unlikely to fall in the next two days. Ukrainian soldiers, he said, were holed up in a makeshift fortress in the south of the city.