1 of 1 A local resident pushes his bicycle past traps and debris on a street in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, January 6, 2023 Photo: Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP A local resident pushes his bicycle past traps and debris on a street in Bakhmut , Donetsk region, on January 6, 2023 Photo: Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP
The head of Russia’s Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said Saturday (20) that he had completely taken the Ukrainian town of Bakhmut, the scene of the longest and bloodiest battle of the Russian offensive.
For its part, Kiev has pledged to continue fighting on the ground, but acknowledged that the situation was “critical”.
Should Bakhmut’s capture be confirmed, it would be a victory for Moscow after several setbacks. It would also precede a counteroffensive that Ukraine says it has been preparing for months.
“On May 20, 2023, at noon today, Bakhmut was completely captured,” Prigozhin announced in a video published on the messaging app Telegram.
In the video he is appears in front of two gunmen waving a Russian flag, surrounded by rundown buildings.
“The operation to kidnap Bakhmut lasted 224 days […] Here was just that [Grupo] Wagner” and none of the official troops of the Russian army, added Prigozhin, who has been in open conflict with the Russian military high command for months.
“The situation is critical. Simultaneously.” […]”Our defenses control some industrial facilities and infrastructure in the region, as well as the private sector,” Hanna Maliar, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister, also said on Telegram.
Advisor to the Ukrainian Presidency Mykhailo Podoliak said on TV that “Bakhmut and all other areas of Ukraine will be liberated”.
According to Prigozhin, as of May 25, the Wagner group will withdraw its members from the city and leave the defense of the community to the Russian army while it is available for future operations from Moscow.