Russian Forces Claim Bakhmut, Ukraine Offers Conflicting Comments
AllSides Summary
Russia’s Wagner Group mercenaries, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed full capture of Bakhmut Saturday afternoon.
The Details: Kyiv initially denied the claims, saying heavy fighting was ongoing, and the situation was “critical.” The Kremlin congratulated Wagner and state forces for the capture. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a Ukrainian spokesperson then offered mixed messaging.
Key Quotes: Zelenskyy, speaking at the G7 Summit, “Bakhmut is only in our hearts” and that the Russians destroyed “everything.” The spokesperson later clarified, “The president denied the capture of Bakhmut.” Prigozhin said, “Today, at 12 noon, Bakhmut was completely taken.” The Wagner leader, who has recently feuded politically with The Kremlin, added, “We fought not only with the Ukrainian armed forces in Bakhmut. We fought the Russian bureaucracy, which threw sand in the wheels.”
For Context: Bakhmut has been one of the longest and bloodiest battles in Ukraine. It has become a symbolic battle for Russia, although Western experts, like The Institute for the Study of War, dispute the utility of the city’s capture. Russian forces have been close to the capture of Bakhmut for several months. Prigozhin said Wagner will now delegate control of the city to the Russian military.
How The Media Covered It: Outlets across the spectrum covered the events similarly. Headlines varied, highlighting Russia’s claims, Zelenskyy’s comments, and his spokesperson’s clarification, though they did not appear to correlate with biases. Independent war reporters, including pro-Ukrainian ones, have corroborated Russia’s claims.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
Zelensky disputes Russian claim it has captured Bakhmut: 'There's nothing'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has disputed Russia's claim it has captured Bakhmut amid an eight-month battle for the city in eastern Ukraine, the longest and likely bloodiest of the conflict.
Zelensky was asked whether Bakhmut was "still in Ukraine’s hands" after Russia claimed the Russian paramilitary organization, the Wagner Group, had captured the city before his meeting with President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Group of Seven leaders summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
"I think no, but you have to — to understand that there is nothing," the Ukrainian president told reporters. "They’ve destroyed everything. There are...
From the Center
Russia says Ukrainian city of Bakhmut captured
Russia claimed on Saturday to have fully captured the smashed eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which would mark an end to the longest and bloodiest battle of the 15-month war.
The assault on the largely levelled city was led by troops from the Wagner Group of mercenaries, whose leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said earlier in the day that his troops had finally pushed the Ukrainians out of the last built-up area inside the city.
Taking Bakhmut - which Russia refers to by its Soviet-era name of Artyomovsk - would represent Moscow's...
From the Left
Zelenskyy says ‘Bakhmut is only in our hearts’ after Russia claims control of Ukrainian city
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Bakhmut was “only in our hearts,” hours after Russia’s defense ministry reported that forces of the Wagner private army, with the support of Russian troops, had seized the city in eastern Ukraine.
Speaking alongside U.S. President Joe Biden at the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Zelenskyy said the Russians had destroyed “everything.” “You have to understand that there is nothing,” he said.
“For today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts,” he said. “There is nothing in this place.”
The Russian ministry...
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