Russian mercenaries have announced that they control more than 80% of the territory of Bakhmut after long and bloody battles, writes Reuters.
The leadership of the Ukrainian army has not commented on the Russian statements but indicated that its forces are still resisting fierce attacks in the city, which had a population of 70,000 before the war. Wagner group has been at the forefront of Russia’s months-long effort to capture Bakhmut. Prolonged trench battles and continuous artillery fire, which cause huge losses on both sides, have led to compare the situation in Bakhmut with World War Two.
The owner of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has indicated that his forces continue to encircle Bakhmut. Prigozhin said in a video published by a Russian military blogger: “In Bakhmut, the larger part, more than 80% is now under our control, including the whole administrative center, factories, warehouses, the administration of the city.”
Denis Pushilin, the Russian insert in the Donetsk region, has reported that the Ukrainian forces have been cornered. Russian news agencies quoted Pushilin: “In the western areas where their units are dug in, they have no choice other than coming forward and giving themselves up.”
Serhiy Cherevatyi, the representative of the eastern military group of the Ukrainian army, said that
the situation in Bakhmut is under control and added that Kyiv would not allow its soldiers to be surrounded.
Deputy Ukrainian Defense Minister Hanna Malyar admitted that Bakhmut has received the main blow in the hostilities, however, Russian forces are generally losing street battles to the Ukrainians, so they have started to simply destroy the remaining buildings and infrastructure.
Kyiv has indicated that more and more modern weapons are needed to defeat the Russians. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter that he had received confirmation of strong US support from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, while hosting the Ukrainian delegation on Tuesday, the 11th of April, promised new supplies of weapons and ammunition.
Read also: Fighting continues in Donetsk; US search for the source of the leaked documents