Ukraine updates: Wagner claims control of eastern Bakhmut
Russia’s privately owned Wagner mercenary group is claiming full control of the eastern part of Bakhmut after months of fierce fighting over the city, which Russia insists on capturing.
Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin made the announcement on Wednesday in a Telegram voice recording.
“Everything east of the Bakhmutka River is completely under Wagner’s control,” he said.
The report could not be independently verified. No Ukrainian response was immediately given to the complaint. Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refuted reports of withdrawal plans.
After months of fighting in and around Bakhmut, Russian forces are intent on capturing the city, which would be their first significant battlefield victory in about six months.
Western strategists and officials suggest that a Russian occupation of the city would have more symbolic than strategic value.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, however, said on Tuesday that control of Bakhmut would allow Moscow forces to mount further attacks deeper inside Ukraine.
Source: DW
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