Wagner company mercenaries are in full control of the eastern part of Bakhmut, Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Wednesday, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of the serious consequences of a complete takeover of the city in western Donbass.

“Units of the private military company Wagner have taken control of the eastern part of Bakhmut,” Prigozhin said in an audio message on the Telegram messenger.

“Everything east of the Bakhmutka River is completely under the control of Wagner,” he added.

Reuters notes that it cannot confirm the information and that Prigozhin has prematurely claimed some of the successes of his company’s mercenaries in the past.

For his part, Mr. Zelenskiy warned that if he captured Bakhmut, the Russian army would have a “free path” to try to capture other Donbas cities.

“It is clear that after Bahamut they can go further. They can go to Kramatorsk, they can go to Slovyansk, the Russians will have a free road to other cities of Ukraine,” the head of the Ukrainian state said in an interview with the American television channel CNN, which was broadcast on Wednesday.

“This is of strategic importance to us,” Zelensky insisted, but stressed that his army remains determined to defend the city.

Decisive battle

The Russian military is stepping up its offensive to capture Bakhmut, deeming the town critical to the continuation of what the Kremlin has called a “special military operation” despite fierce Ukrainian resistance.

Bakhmut “is an important node (lines) of defense of Ukrainian soldiers in the Donbass,” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu commented on Tuesday.

“His capture will allow for new offensive operations in depth,” he added during the meeting.

The President of Ukraine said in an interview with CNN that his army is determined to hold the city. “I had a meeting with the chief of the general staff and military leaders, and they all told me that we should continue to fight in Bakhmut,” Mr. Zelensky assured.

In fact, he planned to defend the Ukrainian forces until new equipment was received from the West in order to launch a counterattack: “Of course, we must be accountable for the lives of our soldiers. But we must do everything in our power while we get weapons, until our army is ready to counterattack.

Although the Pentagon in the US downplays the strategic importance of Bahamut, the city has taken on great symbolic and tactical significance as the two opposing sides have suffered horrendous losses. This is the longest and bloodiest battle since the Russian army invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

The city, which has less than 4,000 inhabitants out of 70,000 that existed before the start of the armed conflict, is almost completely destroyed.

Source: RES-IPE