Summary of the news
- The Wagner mercenary group demanded the takeover of the city of Bakhmut in Ukraine.
- Armed forces from Russia and Ukraine make great efforts to take control of the city.
- Bakhmut has no strategic relevance for experts.
Bakhmut is taken by Russian and Ukrainian troops Genya Savilov/AFP 31/03/2023
The leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner this Monday (Sunday night 3 in Brasilia) claimed the “legal” takeover of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, declaring that the city’s administrative building was under Moscow’s control.
“In a legal sense, Bakhmut is captured. The enemy is concentrating on the western areas,” said Yevgeny Prigozhin.
In a video accompanying the post, Prigozhin can be seen holding the Russian flag with an inscription honoring Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, who was killed in a bombing of a cafe in St Petersburg this Sunday (2).
“The commanders of the units that have taken over the town hall and the entire center will raise this flag,” he said. “This is the private military company Wagner, these are the guys who kidnapped Bakhmut.
On March 20, Prigozhin claimed control of 70% of the city from Wagner Group units.
The battle for Bakhmut is the longest battle of the Russian offensive in Ukraine. The armed forces of Moscow and Kiev have invested heavily in the battle for the city, although analysts attribute little strategic value to the municipality.
Ukraine says fighting for this industrial city is key to keeping Russian forces at bay along the entire Eastern Front.
Six people have been killed in a Russian bomb attack in eastern Ukraine
Six people were killed in a “mass attack” with Russian rockets on Sunday (2) in Konstantinowka near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.
At least three men and three women died in the attacks and eleven were injured, the Ukrainian authorities said.
AFP journalists saw a large crater in the middle of a residential courtyard and shattered windows from the ground floor to upper floors in two 14story buildings, while neighboring houses had their roofs collapsed.
Police said Russia carried out a “mass attack” using six S300 and Hurricane missiles in the morning.
“Sixteen residential buildings, eight private apartments, a kindergarten, an administration building, three cars and a gas line” were affected, he added.
Lilia, a 19yearold psychology student and resident of one of the damaged buildings, was “shocked”. “I was very lucky not to be at home right now,” he told AFP.