‘Bakhmut is only in our hearts. There is nothing . just ruins and dead Russians,’ says Ukraine president
Ukraine’s president, Voldomyr Zelenskiy, has denied Russian claims to have captured the key Donbas city of Bakhmut, saying Ukrainian forces still held positions in the city.
“Bakhmut is not occupied by Russian Federation as of today,” he told a press conference at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
Zelenskiy’s insistence that Ukraine still had a foothold in the contested city came after the Kremlin and the Wagner mercenary group claimed victory, saying they had seized the last urban areas in Bakhmut. In an earlier appearance, Zelenskiy appeared to concede Bakhmut had finally fallen to Russian forces after a bloody eight-month battle.
“You have to understand that there is nothing. They destroyed everything. For today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts. There is nothing in this place … just ruins and a lot of dead Russians,” he said.
In his later comments, Zelenskiy added that photographs of the destruction of Hirosihima during the second world war reminded him of Bakhmut and other destroyed Ukrainian cities.
Russian state news agencies cited the Kremlin’s press service as saying President Vladimir Putin “congratulates the Wagner assault detachments, as well as all servicemen of the Russian armed forces units, who provided them with the necessary support and flank protection, on the completion of the operation to liberate Artyomovsk [the city’s Soviet-era name].”
In a video posted earlier on Telegram, Wagner’s head, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said the city came under complete Russian control at about midday on Saturday. He spoke flanked by about a half dozen fighters, with ruined buildings in the background and explosions heard in the distance.
While there is confusion surrounding who controls Bakhmut, what does appear to be clear, however, is that Ukrainian forces in the city have struggled in recent days.
