Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier Sunday congratulated Russia’s private military group, Wagner, and the Russian military, a day after Wagner’s chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said his group had captured the city.
“The continuous advance of our forces in the suburbs makes it difficult for the enemy to be present in Bakhmut. Our forces have partially surrounded the city,” Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ghana Malyar said on Telegram.
He added that Ukrainian forces continue to advance along the outskirts of Bakhmut and have captured part of the heights overlooking the city.
Maliar wrote the comments on the Telegram app shortly after Putin said the Battle of Bakhmut ended with a Russian victory.
She explained, “Our forces control the city by partially encircling it, which gives us the opportunity to destroy the enemy.”
“Therefore, the enemy must defend themselves in the part of the city that they control,” she added.
Malyar added that Ukrainian forces are still defending industrial facilities and infrastructure in Bakhmut, in addition to a sector of the city.
Ukrainian conflict over the fall of Bakhmut
On Sunday, Ukraine announced it was still fighting for control of the eastern town of Bakhmut, after Zelenskyy earlier said the town was “only in our hearts”.
Over the past few hours, a state of conflict has emerged over statements by Ukrainian officials regarding the downfall of Bakhmut.
What did Zelenskyy say about Bakhmut?
Zelenskyy said, ahead of a meeting with US President Joe Biden in Japan, that he believed “Ukraine has lost the city, but he added that you have to understand that there is nothing there. … They (the Russians) destroyed everything”.
He continued, “Today Bakhmut is only in our hearts. There is nothing there.”
Zelenskyy was speaking alongside the US president at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
“It’s a tragedy,” said the Ukrainian president.
Zelenskyy’s spokesperson
For his part, a spokesman for the Ukrainian president said that Zelenskyy did not confirm the control of Russian forces over the besieged town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.
Sergey Nikiforov wrote on Facebook: “The journalist’s question was: The Russians said they had taken control of Bakhmut… The president’s answer was: I don’t think so.”
In Ukrainian, he added: “In this way, the president denied the capture of Bakhmut”.
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