Kyiv denies reports Russia capturing Bakhmut

The Eastern Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Monday denied reports that Russian forces captured the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region and raised the Russian flag on its administration building.

 

A spokesman for the command, Serhei Cherevaty, told Reuters Russians raised a flag “on some toilet” and said they had captured the city. 

 

He added  “let them think that they have taken it”, while in reality, Russia is very far from conquering Bakhmut. According to the representative of the Eastern Command of Ukraine, the fighting around the city administration building continues.

 

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Russian private military company Wagner, last night, via telegram, released a video and information that the Russian flag was raised on the administration building of the city of Artyomovsk. 

 

Russia calls Artyomovsk the city of Bakhmut of the Donetsk region. According to Prigozhin, “Bakhmut has been legally taken” and Russian flags will be raised in the entire central part of the city. 

 

Units of the Russian regular army and the private military company Wagner have been trying to capture the city of Bakhmut of the Donetsk region, whose area is about 42 km², since 2022. 

 

Before the war launched in February, 72,000 people lived in Bakhmut.