Wagner claims victory in Bakhmut: Russian mercenary group says it has full control of besieged city in Ukraine in potential strategic win for Putin – but Kyiv insists the fighting is not over
- Estimates say up to 30,000 Russians have been killed or wounded in Bakhmut
Russian mercenary force Wagner says it has been victorious in Bakhmut after more than 200 days fighting for the city, but Ukraine has dismissed the claim.
Leader Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed his forces have full control of the besieged city in a video recorded in front of destroyed buildings as explosions are heard in the distance.
Ukraine’s deputy defence minister rejected the claim but admitted the situation was ‘critical’.
Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesman for Ukraine’s eastern command, also told the Associated Press news agency that Prigozhin’s claim ‘is not true. Our units are fighting in Bakhmut.’
Wagner mercenaries have fighting in the longest and bloodiest of the war so far to take the eastern city and have previously claimed to have seized it.
The now largely-destroyed city not a strategically important location for Russia, but Ukraine has poured large amounts of resources in defending it.
Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed his forces have full control Bakhmut – which Kyiv denies – in a video recorded in front of destroyed buildings as explosions are heard in the distance
Wagner mercenaries have fighting in the longest and bloodiest of the war so far to take the eastern city and have previously claimed to have seized it
Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesman for Ukraine’s eastern command, said that Prigozhin’s claim ‘is not true. Our units are fighting in Bakhmut’ (pictured: rockets being launched at Russian troops in Bakhmut yesterday)
Western estimates say between 20,000 and 30,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded in Bakhmut, while Ukraine’s military has also suffered heavily.
In its latest intelligence update, the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Russia’s redeployment of ‘up to several battalions’ in the area over the past four days followed Ukrainian tactical gains on the flanks of the largely destroyed city.
The MoD added: ‘With Russia likely maintaining relatively few uncommitted combat units in Ukraine, the redeployment represents a notable commitment by the Russian command.
‘Russia’s leadership likely continue to see capturing Bakhmut as the key immediate war aim which would allow them to claim some degree of success in the conflict.’
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is in Japan for talks with the leaders of the world’s most powerful democracies at the G7 summit.
Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messaging app that they also discussed Ukraine’s needs in de-mining and mobile hospitals during their first face-to-face meeting since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Reuters reported.
Kyiv has been preparing for a major counter-offensive to take back territory seized by Russia since February last year.
The news in Bakhmut comes after US President Joe Biden approved plans to train Ukrainian pilots on US-made F-16 jets, in a move that could tilt the balance in the war with Russia.
The F-16 training will be conducted using European-owned but US-made F-16s and will probably begin in the coming weeks.
A shocking before and after of Bakhmut highlighting the devastation caused by the conflict
