Battle for Bakhmut: Russia claims control but Ukraine says fight not over
Russia’s defence ministry says Wagner mercenaries backed by Russian troops had seized Ukraine's Bakhmut but Kiev claims it is in control of a small part of the eastern city and is not being fully occupied.
Although Russia claims it has won control of Ukraine's eastern city of Bakhmut, after a grinding nine-month conflict in which tens of thousands of fighters have died, top Ukrainian military leaders say the battle is not over.
Ukrainian officials acknowledge they now control only a small part of Bakhmut on Monday. But, they also say their current positions in the areas surrounding Bakhmut will let them strike back inside the city.
“Despite the fact that we now control a small part of Bakhmut, the importance of its defence does not lose its relevance,” said Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of ground forces for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
“This gives us the opportunity to enter the city in case of a change in the situation. And it will definitely happen.”
Russia’s defence ministry said Wagner mercenaries backed by Russian troops had seized the city, but Ukraine PresidentVolodymyrZelenskyy said Bakhmut was not being fully occupied.
The fog of war made it impossible to confirm the situationon the ground in Bakhmut.
But here's what we know so far:
In a video posted on Telegram, Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed the city came under complete Russian control at about midday on Saturday.
Holding a Russian flag before a group of at least nine masked fighters in body army who were toting heavy weapons, Prigozhin proclaimed: “This afternoon at 12:00, Bakhmut was completely taken.”
More important for Ukraine has been the high numbers of Russian casualties and sapping of the morale of enemy troops for the small patch of the 1,500-kilometre (932-mile) front line as Ukraine gears up for a major counteroffensive in the 15-month-old war.
“The enemy failed to surround Bakhmut. They lost part of the heights around the city. The continuing advance of our troops in the suburbs greatly complicates the enemy’s presence,” said Hanna Maliar, Ukraine’s deputy defence minister.
"Our troops have taken the city in a semi-encirclement, which gives us the opportunity to destroy the enemy.”
Smoldering wasteland
About 55 kilometres (34 miles) north of the Russian-held regional capital of Donetsk, Bakhmut was an important industrial centre and home to about 80,000 people before the war.
It was popular among tourists for its broad tree-lined avenues, lush parks and stately downtown with imposing late 19th-century mansions. All are now reduced to a smoldering wasteland.
Fought over so fiercely by Russia and Ukraine in recent months has been Bakhmut's urban centre, where Ukrainian commanders have conceded Moscow controlled more than 90 percent.
But Ukrainian forces are making advances near strategic roads through the countryside just outside, chipping away at Russia’s northern and southern flanks by the meter (yard) with the aim of encircling Wagner fighters inside the city.
'Paying a high price'
Russia has deployed reinforcements to Bakhmut to replenish the lost northern and southern flanks and prevent more Ukrainian breakthroughs, according to Ukrainian officials and outside observers.
In the last week, days before Russia announced the city had fallen into their control, Ukrainian forces retained only a handful of buildings amid constant Russian bombardment. Outnumbered and outgunned, they described nightmarish days.
Russia’s artillery dominance was so overwhelming, accompanied by continuous human waves of mercenaries, that defensive positions could not be held for long.
“The importance of our mission of staying in Bakhmut lies in distracting a significant enemy force,” said Taras Deiak, a commander of a special unit of a volunteer battalion. “We are paying a high price for this."