The head of the Russian Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, today claimed the complete capture of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, in the east of the country and the scene of the longest and bloodiest battle of the offensive of Russiaalthough Ukraine He assured that he still controls some areas in a situation that he also described as “critical”.
“On May 20, 2023, today, at noon, Bakhmut was taken in its entirety”Prigozhin announced in a video broadcast by his press service on the Telegram messaging application, where he is seen in front of armed men waving a Russian flag, surrounded by a ruined building.
“Until May 25, we will fully search the city, we will create defensive positions and transfer it to the military for them to take care of. For our part, we will go back to basics,” added Prigozhin, who is in open conflict with the Russian military hierarchy.
For its part, Ukraine stated this Saturday that it still controls some areas in Bakhmutbut said the situation on the ground is “critical” for his forces.
Bakhmut: a critical area for Ukraine
“The situation is critical. At the same time (…) our defenders control some industrial facilities and infrastructure in the area, as well as the private sector,” Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar said on Telegram, quoted by the AFP news agency.
Ukraine claimed this week that recaptured more than 20 square kilometers of land held by Russian forces north and south of the cityalso acknowledging an advance by Wagner’s fighters in the town itself, where only a small stronghold of Ukrainian resistance remained in the west.
The flanks along which the Ukrainians claim to have advanced near Bakhmut are in the hands of regular troops of the Russian army, which Prigozhin accused of abandoning their positions.
“We have not only fought against the Ukrainian army in Bakhmut, but also with the Russian bureaucracy that put stones in our way“, declared the chief of Wagner, in renewed criticism of the Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, and the chief of the General Staff, Valeri Gerasimov.
Prior to the paramilitary group announcing total control of Bakhmut, the United Kingdom reported that Russia began a new deployment of forces in front of the city four days ago; in a new sample of its commitment to conquer the town of great symbolic force in the development of the conflict.
russian-ukrainian war missile attack
NA Photo: REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
Russia’s efforts for Bakhmut
“It is highly probable that Russia has deployed in recent days several battalions to reinforce their sector in Bakhmut“, indicated the British Ministry of Defense in its latest assessment cited by the Europa Press news agency.
“This redeployment represents a remarkable commitment of the Russian commandgiven the relatively few Russian combat units that are in Ukraine without engaging the enemy,” the ministry added.
For all these reasons, London understands that “The Russian leadership continues to perceive Bakhmut as a key and immediate war objective”where victory “would allow them to claim some degree of success in the conflict.”
On the other hand, earlier today the Ukrainian army assured that it fully repelled a new attack with Russian drones against kyiv, although the remnants fell on the capital with no casualties reported. “Tonight (Friday to Saturday), the aggressor carried out a new massive drone attack,” Kiev’s head of civil and military administration Sergi Popko wrote on Telegram.
Source: Ambito
