The Ukrainian army confirmed today, Monday, that it is still controlling Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, despite the Russian “Wagner” group’s announcement that it had taken control of this city.
The Ukrainian General Staff said on Facebook, “The enemy did not stop its attack on Bakhmut. But the Ukrainian defenders bravely took control of the city and repelled many enemy attacks.”
The head of “Wagner”, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said late on Sunday evening that his forces had raised the Russian flag over the Bakhmut town administration building.
“From a legal point of view, Bakhmut has been captured…the enemy is concentrated in the western parts,” Prigozhin said in an audio message published by his press service via Telegram.
And Russian media quoted Prigozhin as saying that the commanders of the units of the Russian forces, who are in charge of managing the city and its entire center, “will hang and raise banners and flags.”
Russian media and social media accounts circulated a video showing Prigozhin raising the Russian flag over the Bakhmut town administration building.
Information regarding Bakhmut
- Bakhmut is located on both banks of the “Pakhmutokva” river in the north of Donetsk Province in the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine. Its foundation dates back to 1571, and it is the oldest historical and cultural center in the province.
- The city is on a main road leading to the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, two of the largest cities in the Donbass region, the industrial basin of Ukraine, parts of which were taken over by pro-Moscow separatists in 2014, before Russia took control of other parts of it in the current war.
- It is concentrated near the international road “M03”, which connects it directly to the city of Slavyansk in Lugansk, and makes its way towards the Kharkiv region.
- The area of the city of Bakhmut is 41 square kilometers, and its population is 71,000, according to the 2021 census, and because of the war, 90 percent of them fled, according to Ukrainian officials.
