Wagner’s group announces the capture of Bakhmut, and Kiev confirms that its forces are resisting

Wagner’s group, the leader of the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, announced the capture of Bakhmut yesterday, which Ukraine denies by celebrating the expansion of the F-16 coalition, which was joined by the United States, reports Efe.

“Today at noon, the last redoubt of the Samoliot district in the city of Bakhmut was captured” in the west of the city, said the head of the Russian paramilitary group Yevgeny Prigozhin in a video published on his Telegram account.

Prigozhin, with the Russian flag in his hands and accompanied by several fighters, pointed out that “the operation of capturing Bakhmut, “Bajmut’s meat grinder”it lasted 224 days” and was intended to wear down the Ukrainian army and “give the battered Russian army a chance to recover”.

However, Kiev immediately denied that its forces were leaving the city: Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said “heavy fighting” was continuing, although she acknowledged that “The situation is critical”. “However, our forces are maintaining the defense of the Samoliot district,” he said.

In recent days, the Battle of Bakhmut has become something of a two-front race: Wagner has advanced west to capture the last quarters, and Ukrainian forces have forced several Russian regular units to withdraw from their positions.