KYIV: Russia said on Thursday it had cut off Ukrainian forces inside Bakhmut, while Kyiv insisted supply lines were still open into the town, scene of the most brutal battle of the war.

The Russian army said its airborne troops were `blocking the transfer of Ukrainian army reserves to the city and the possibility of retreat for enemy units.` It also said that Wagner mercenary units were advancing in Bakhmut.

But the Ukrainian army said it had communication with its troops inside Bakhmut and was able to send them munitions.

`This does not correspond to reality,` Sergiy Cherevaty, spokesman for Ukraine`s eastern forces said, referring to Russia`s claims.

`We are able to... deliver food products, ammunition, medicines, all that is necessary, and also to recover our wounded.` The Ukrainian general staff nevertheless acknowledged a `difficult` situation in Bakhmut.

The Russian claim was unable to verify the status on the ground in the eastern town, which hasturned into the longest and bloodiest fight since Russia invaded Ukraine last year.

Norway expels 15 `intel officers` On Thursday, Norway announced the expulsion of 15 `intelligence officers` working at the Russian embassy in Oslo, further straining relations between the neighbouring countries.

Moscow vowed it would respond to what it described as an `extremelyunfriendly` decision.

`The 15 intelligence officers have been engaging in activities that are not compatible with their diplomatic status,` Norway`s Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said in a statement.

According to the statement, the `officers` had been declared `personae non gratae,` and must leave `shortly.` Speaking at a press conference, Huitfeldt said their activities had been monitored `over time,` but she declined to elaborate on what activities had spurred the decision.

According to the Verdens Gang (VG) newspaper, the officers are believed to have worked for the Russian foreign intelligence service SVR and the military intelligence GRU.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Natoshould play a bigger role in security in the Black Sea, and integrate Ukraine`s air and missile defences with those of alliance members.

`The Black Sea is instrumental for making the whole of Europe peaceful and future-oriented, Kuleba, speaking via video link, told a Black Sea security conference in Romanian capital Bucharest.

`Sadly, it is also a showcase of how rapidly things can deteriorate if one neglects threats. It`s time to turn the Black Sea into what the Baltic Sea has become, a sea of Nato.

The remarks were brushed aside in Moscow, where Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a briefing: `The Black Sea can never be a Nato sea.` He added: `This is a shared sea, it must be a sea of cooperation, interaction and security for all its littoral states. And this security is indivisible.

Both Moscow and Kyiv rely on the sea for trade including supplying grain markets as two of the world`s biggest food exporters. A Russian blockade threatened to cause a globalfood crisis last year until the United Nations and Turkiye brokered an accord to keep ports open, with diplomacy ongoing to extend it.-Agencies