Russia's Wagner group says its units captured Ukraine's Bakhmut 'in legal sense'
Russia's private security company, Wagner, claims its units have nearly captured the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which has been the subject of one of the most protracted battles in the ongoing war between the two neighbors.
"In a legal sense, Bakhmut has been captured. The enemy is concentrated in western areas," Yevgeny Prigozhin, who heads the group, said in a post on his Telegram channel on Sunday, adding that his forces have taken the city's main administration building.
In a video accompanying the post, Prigozhin was seen holding a Russian flag, saying, "The commanders of the units that took city hall and the whole center will go and put up this flag."
He added, "This is the Wagner private military company, these are the guys who took Bakhmut. In a legal sense, it's ours."
Russia launched what is calls a special military operation in Ukraine in late February last year, saying it was aimed at defending the pro-Russian population in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk against persecution by Kiev.
For Moscow, capturing Bakhmut is essential to achieve its stated goal of taking control of the entire Donetsk region. Donetsk is one of the four Ukrainian regions -- along with Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia -- that Moscow annexed to the Russian Federation following referendums in those regions in September last year.
Kiev: Our forces still holding Bakhmut
Responding to Prigozhin's remarks, the Ukrainian army said later on Sunday that its forces still hold Bakhmut.
"The enemy has not stopped its assault of Bakhmut. However, Ukrainian defenders are courageously holding the city as they repel numerous enemy attacks," the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on its Facebook page.
Also on Sunday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky praised his troops for defending Bakhmut, adding, "...It's especially hot there today!"
Ukraine says the battle for the industrial city is key to holding back Russian forces along the entire eastern front.
Last Wednesday, Ukrainian military officials said Russian forces had made some progress in the flashpoint city, stressing, however, that their fighters were still holding on in the battle.
"Enemy forces had a degree of success in their actions aimed at storming the city of Bakhmut. Our defenders are holding the city and are repelling numerous enemy attacks," they added.
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