The fall of Bakhmut: Ukraine recognizes and puts alternative plan to regain control
The commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, Oleksandr Sersky, confirmed, on Sunday, that his forces no longer control only a small part of Bakhmut, which Moscow announced that it had captured, but indicated that it was still advancing on its outskirts.
He wrote on Telegram, “Although we currently control only a small part of Bakhmut, it is important to defend it… This allows us to enter the city if the situation changes, which it certainly will”.
He added, “We continue to advance on the outskirts of Bakhmut and are approaching control of the city in a tactical encirclement,” stressing that Kiev “continues to defend”.
On Saturday, Russia confirmed that it had completely liberated Bakhmut, which witnessed the longest and fiercest battles since its invasion of the country began in February 2022.
For his part, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Japan that the city wasn’t occupied by Russian forces.
The commander of the Russian Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose men are fighting on the front lines in Bakhmut and who was the first to announce the fall of the city, reaffirmed, on Sunday, that the city had been controlled to the last inch of its legal borders.
“There is not a single Ukrainian soldier in Bakhmut,” he said.
For its part, the Ukrainian Ministry of Interior reported, on Sunday, that 10 people, including a girl, had been evacuated from Bakhmut.
“The rescue operation was difficult… In the midst of mines and under the fire of the occupiers, and if there is hell, it’s in Bakhmut,” the Ukrainian ministry quoted one of the evacuees as saying.
