The leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Denys Pusilin, said on Monday that he had visited the frontline town of Bakhmut, where fierce fighting has been going on for months. A separatist leader in the region, which Russia says it has annexed along with three other Ukrainian regions, says Moscow forces have made significant gains in Bakhmut, The Moscow Times reports.
The battle for Bakhmut is the longest and bloodiest of the Russian offensive, and the city has taken on huge symbolic importance, although analysts say it has little strategic importance.
Denys Pushylin, the Russian-appointed head of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, published a video on Telegram showing him in a heavily destroyed city.
“This is our Artemivsk,” Pusilin said, using the Soviet name for Bakhmut, which Russians usually use for the city, which was destroyed after months of fierce fighting.
“He was released by the Wagnerites,” he added, referring to Wagner’s mercenary group, which is leading Russia’s struggle in the mining town.
Destroyed buildings and ruins can be seen behind Pushylin, who was wearing a camouflage helmet.
The head of the so-called DPR, Denis Pushylin, arrived #Bakhmut and said that Russia is “liberating” the city, and the Ukrainian military is destroying it to the ground. #RussianMilitaryCrimes #Stop Russian aggression pic.twitter.com/nV9l4NAnHx
— UkraineWorld (@ukraine_world) April 10, 2023
He seems to be in the central Freedom Square of the city. The sound of artillery can be heard in the video.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian mercenaries of the “Wagner” PMC, said a week ago that his forces raised the Russian flag on the administrative building. Prigozhin claimed that from a “legal” point of view, Bakhmut was captured by Russia.
The Russian military has not reported such gains, and Ukraine has said it continues to defend the city.
In a sign that “Wagner” has achieved considerable success, several Russian military correspondents have published videos of Bakhmut in recent days.
One of them was Semyon Pegov, who published photos of him riding a motorcycle accompanied by Wagner’s fighters among the ruins of the city.
The number of dead Ukrainian soldiers in Bakhmut is estimated at 15,000-20,000, says Yan Gagin, adviser to the leader of the separatists in Donetsk, reports the Russian news agency TASS.
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Source: Hot News
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