The battle for Bakhmut has been raging for months. Russia claims the capture of the city for itself – a statement by Zelensky must be clarified in the aftermath.
Update from May 21, 22:30 p.m.: It is still unclear whether Russia has actually completely conquered Bakhmut. Ukraine reported further advances on the front line around the eastern Ukrainian city in the evening. "Especially in the last 24 hours, we have advanced about 200 meters on some sections," said the spokesman for Army Group East, Serhiy Cherevatyi, on state television. The Ukrainian military has been advancing in the vicinity of the city all week.
The 3rd Assault Brigade of the Ukrainians, deployed near Bakhmut, declared that it had advanced as much as 1700 meters on a sector of the front of 700 meters. According to Cherevatyi, Ukrainian forces are also entrenched in some buildings and fortifications in the southwest of Bakhmut. Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin denied this: There is not a single living Ukrainian soldier left in Bakhmut, he claimed in an audio message on Telegram.
Bakhmut: Ukraine even hints at imminent encirclement - and mocks Russia
Update from May 21, 15:20 p.m.: The guesswork about the situation in embattled Bakhmut continues. Ukraine continues to control a small part of the eastern part of the city, according to one of its senior generals. However, this is sufficient for an advance into the destroyed city if the situation changes, General Olexander Syrskyj explains on Telegram. Ukrainian troops approached a tactical encirclement of the city.
"Our soldiers hold fortifications and some premises in the southwest of the city," said the spokesman for Army Group East, Serhiy Cherevatyi, on Ukrainian television. He admitted, however, that the situation was critical and that there was heavy fighting. Cherevatyi also teased Moscow. Even if conquered, the city would have no military or political use for the Russians, "but they behave as if they had taken Dnipro." The megacity of Dnipro is the most important industrial and armaments center in southeastern Ukraine.
Bakhmut taken by Russia? Zelensky denies
Update from May 21, 13:20 p.m.: The city of Bakhmut, which has been embattled for months, is not completely under Russian control, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. After the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Zelensky said on Sunday: "Bakhmut has not been occupied by Russia today." Zelensky thus clarified ambiguous, ambiguous statements by him about the military situation after a meeting with US President Joe Biden.
Update from May 21, 10:40 a.m.: Is the battle for Bakhmut over? Russia yesterday declared the fighting to be decided and announced the complete capture of the city in eastern Ukraine. Today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on this. However, his reported admission that Bakhmut was lost (see also update of 8.25 a.m.) could be a misunderstanding. His statement was ambiguous and can be interpreted in different ways. That depends on which part of the question ("Is Bakhmut still in Ukraine's hands? The Russians said they had taken Bakhmut") refers to Zelensky's response.
In any case, Zelensky's spokesman denied his confirmation of a possible loss of Bakhmut. On the contrary, the president denied the capture of the city by Russian troops, Serhiy Nykyforov said on Facebook on Sunday. The General Staff in Kiev also wrote in its morning situation report: "The battle for the city of Bakhmut continues."
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Battle for Bakhmut: Zelensky's statement causes confusion
Update from May 21, 09:15 a.m.: Volodymyr Zelensky's statement on the battle for Bakhmut is currently causing confusion. A journalist from the Financial Times wrote on Twitter that he had spoken with Zelensky's team, which did not want to confirm the loss of Bakhmut. Zelensky said that "the city is lost in the sense that it is completely destroyed," according to Christopher Miller.
On the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima on Sunday, a reporter had asked Zelensky whether the city was still in Ukrainian hands. The journalist added that the Russians had said that they had taken Bakhmut. The Ukrainian president responded by saying, "I don't think so." Zelensky stressed that the city was almost completely destroyed. There was "nothing" left there, he said, without first giving more details about the military situation on the ground. He went on to say, "It's a tragedy." But today, Bakhmut is "only in our hearts." Zelensky thanked the Ukrainian soldiers there for their efforts.
Update from May 21, 08:25 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has now acknowledged the loss of the city of Bakhmut. When asked if Bakhmut is still in the hands of Ukraine, he replies: "I don't think so," reports the British channel Sky News.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has already congratulated the Wagner units and the army, the Russian news agency Tass reported, citing a statement from the Kremlin.
Prigozhin announces complete capture of Bakhmut
First reported on 20 May: Bakhmut – Yevgeny Prigozhin has long since become the mouthpiece of the invaders in the Ukraine war. Hardly a day goes by without the boss of the dreaded Wagner Group speaking out through one of his channels. For several months, mainly from the fiercely contested Bakhmut.
Sometimes with incitement against the leadership of Ukraine around President Volodymr Zelensky or the West in general, then again with rants in the direction of Moscow. On several occasions, the mercenary leader criticized the poor equipment of the troops fighting for Vladimir Putin's imperial dream. Demanded more supplies. Shot at Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in general, obviously his favorite target among Putin's followers.
Declares the battle for Bakhmut won: Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin - here in an earlier video from the combat zone - announces a victory for Russia in Ukraine. © Screenshot Telegram
These are all appearances that illustrate how powerful the 61-year-old, who became known as "Putin's cook", has long since become within the invaders. There is no doubt that Prigozhin is one of the beneficiaries of the campaign. Regardless of its outcome.
Battle of Bakhmut: Prigozhin announces conquest of the city by Wagner
The founder of the Wagner Group also showed his influence when he unexpectedly announced the imminent withdrawal of his subjects from Bakhmut. The Washington Post even wrote that Prigozhin went so far as to offer Ukrainians information about the positions of the Russian armed forces. However, he denied this. His latest speech is likely to make similar headlines. Because in a video published this Saturday on Telegram, Prigozhin declared Bakhmut conquered.
"We have completely taken over the whole city," says the Wagner boss as he holds a Russian flag in his hand. "The operation to capture Bakhmut lasted 224 days," Prigozhin said, stressing that this military success – it would be the first significant of the invaders in Ukraine in about a year – was due solely to his people. His greetings to Moscow sounded like this: "We fought not only with the Ukrainian army, but also with the Russian bureaucracy, which put obstacles in our way."
Has Russia captured Bakhmut? Kiev disagrees, declaring situation "critical"
The veracity of Prigozhin's statements cannot be independently verified. However, according to the latest reports, the attackers had advanced street by street, although the Ukrainian military leadership apparently wanted to hold the strategically important city in the Donetsk region with all its might and did not order a retreat despite immense losses.
Kiev now also contradicted the account of Putin's confidant. The Armed Forces Command Staff responsible for eastern Ukraine stressed that Ukrainian soldiers would continue to fight. Hanna Maliar, Deputy Minister of Defence, spoke of heavy fighting and called the situation "critical". However, according to her, the defenders' troops would control some industrial and infrastructure facilities in the contested area.
British classify battle for Bakhmut: "Russia would record some success in the conflict"
Earlier, British intelligence reported that Russia had increased its forces in the area. The Ministry of Defense, which regularly publishes its assessment of the war, stated: "In the past four days, Russia has most likely deployed several battalions to reinforce the Bakhmut front."
Behind this, a reaction to the tactical terrain gains of the Ukrainians on the flanks of the embattled city is suspected. Likewise, Prigozhin's aforementioned threat that his mercenaries would stop the battle for Bakhmut may have driven Russia to act.
The British suspect that Russia was prepared to stretch enormously for the conquest of the almost completely destroyed city: "The Russian leadership probably continues to regard the capture of Bakhmut as the most important immediate war goal that would allow it to achieve some success in the conflict."
Once upon a time there was a city: Bakhmut has been razed to the ground in recent months. © IMAGO / SNA
Russia and the Battle of Bakhmut: Only symbolic value for Putin?
The outstanding importance of the once 80,000-inhabitant city for Russia seems to be explained by the fact that it is located near a highway that leads to the Ukrainian-held cities of Kramatorsk and Slovyansk. However, during the months-long fighting, the defenders regained control of the nearby cities of Lyman and Izyum, which means that the capture of Bakhmut would probably have symbolic value for Putin. After all, the Kremlin chief could once again sell his people a victory on the battlefield.
On both sides, tens of thousands of fighters are said to have died in the clashes. The death toll among civilians is in the four-digit range, according to Ukraine. Like Mariupol, Bakhmut is no longer recognizable as a city after the bombardments.
Ukraine and the counteroffensive: Loss of Bakhmut would probably have no effect
It is also questionable whether a Russian success on this part of the front would have an impact on the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian armed forces, which have been upgraded by the West for weeks. For example, there has always been speculation that Kiev would keep the Russians so busy in Bakhmut mainly in order to test their defense capability and meet less resistance in other parts of the country if lost territories are to be recaptured.
Experts speculate that Ukraine could now also target the Crimean peninsula, which has immense strategic and symbolic value for both sides. Its annexation in 2014 marked the beginning of Putin's attack on the neighboring country, which large parts of the world wanted to admit far too late. It was the beginning of the visible Ukraine conflict. (mg)
