Ukraine has dismissed Russian assertions that its forces have captured the devastated city of Bakhmut, insisting that Ukrainian troops still hold positions in the Donbas city and are working to encircle Russian mercenaries controlling the ruined centre.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told reporters at the G7 summit in Hiroshima that Bakhmut was “not occupied by Russian Federation as of today”. He compared the destruction to Hiroshima after the atomic bomb, adding: “There is nothing … just ruins and a lot of dead Russians.”
Russian claims of victory came after Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group, filmed himself amid rubble on Saturday and declared the city fully under his control. President Vladimir Putin later congratulated Russian forces on “the completion of the operation to liberate Artyomovsk”.
Ukraine’s deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar, said Ukrainian forces still hold the “airplane area” near Bakhmut’s western entrance, along with some infrastructure sites and high ground. She added that Ukrainian troops have “taken the city in a semi-encirclement”, allowing them to target the enemy. General Oleksandr Syrskyi echoed this, stating his forces are approaching a “tactical encirclement”.
Heavy fighting continues on the outskirts, with both sides suffering thousands of casualties. US President Joe Biden estimated Russian losses at 100,000 in Bakhmut alone. Zelenskiy secured pledges of F-16 pilot training and more weapons from the G7, stating that Putin “will not break our resolve”.
