HIROSHIMA. He insists on it Kyiv What Russia not completely captured Bakhmut, the symbolic city of Donbass, around which bloody clashes between Ukrainian forces and their fighters have been taking place for the past eight months Wagner mercenary group. His so-called “meat grinder”. war in Ukraine, due to heavy losses on both sides, was the subject of conflicting statements from Russia and Ukraine yesterday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, from Hiroshima, where he traveled to attend the G7 summit, appeared to accept Russia’s claim that the city had fallen to Wagner, even saying that its destruction reminded him of images of a Japanese martyr city after a nuclear bomb. But he later refuted the Russian claims, stating that “Bakhmut has not yet been captured by the Russian Federation.”

Russian news agencies showed the Kremlin and President Putin congratulating Wagner units and the Russian armed forces on the “liberation” of Artemovsk, after the Soviet name of Bakhmut. In the video, the head of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that at noon on Saturday, the city came under full control of Russia.

Prigogine’s video

Biden promised Zelensky a new $375 million aid package.

Despite the confusion over control of Bakhmut, what is certain is that Ukrainian forces are struggling to hold on to the last areas that have not fallen into Russian hands. Zelenskiy’s advisers, however, have argued that claims of a Russian victory were meant to overshadow Zelenskiy’s spectacular trips to Riyadh and Hiroshima. “Prigozhin is not the first time he says: “We understand everything and dominate,” commented Mikhail Podolyak, a close associate of the Ukrainian president. Indeed, heavy fighting continued in the city’s suburbs yesterday, suggesting that much of Bahamut remains contested. Both Russia and Ukraine lost thousands of people, the exact number is not reported. The city once had a population of 70,000, and conflicts over its control reflect the limits of Russian power. At a distance of 50 km from Donetsk, Bakhmut was a large industrial center with salt and gypsum mines. After Moscow failed to capture Kyiv, Bakhmut became a springboard for other important Donbas cities. However, the Russian offensive was stopped at Bakhmut, and the small town acquired a much larger size. According to international analysts, even if its occupation is valid, the strategic significance of Russia’s success is limited.

Concluding the three-day G7, US President Joe Biden, sitting next to Zelensky, said that Western allies would continue to unwaveringly support Ukraine. This was preceded by his green light to train Ukrainian F-16 pilots after a long period during which Washington refused to give in to Ukrainian pressure to supply the aircraft. At the same time, Biden promised a new $375 million aid package in the form of ammunition, armored vehicles and other equipment.

Sanctions against Americans

In another development, it was surprising that the new list of Russian sanctions against the Americans included three opponents of Donald Trump who have no other ties to Moscow. Among the 500 people subject to travel and financial restrictions, according to a New York Times report, is Leticia James, the New York Attorney General who is investigating former President Brad Ruffensperger, a government official in Georgia who threw challenging him to pressure Trump to change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, as well as the Capitol police officer who shot and killed a Trump fan during a hack on January 6, 2021. None of the three have anything to do with US policy towards Russia, and the only reason that can justify sanctions is their rivalry with Trump.