“My first encounter with Bakhmout was in 2015, recalls Eduard Rodionov, lieutenant-colonel in the 58e Ukrainian brigade. It was a flourishing city: a football stadium, modern parks, beautiful landscapes, everything you need for a normal and fulfilling life…” Seven years later, after more than ten months of bombing and intense fighting, the pretty little town of 70,000 inhabitants before the war is nothing more than a field of ruins. On Saturday May 20, it was in an apocalyptic landscape that the boss of the Wagner private militia, Evgueni Prigojine, claimed responsibility for the capture of Bakhmout, the epicenter of the fighting on the Eastern front.
In a video posted on his social media, Yevgeny Prigozhin stands in front of unnamed soldiers carrying flags of the Russian Federation and its mercenary militia as artillery blasts echo in the distance. “Today, at noon, Bakhmout was taken in its entirety”, he shouts. In open conflict with the Russian military high command, the man took the opportunity to claim the merits of victory: “The operation to take Bakhmout lasted 224 days. (…) There was only Wagner here. »
Later on Saturday evening, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the mercenary group and the Russian military, according to a Kremlin statement. “Thanks to the offensive actions of Wagner’s assault units, with the support of artillery and aviation from the “South” unit, the liberation of Artiomosvk was completed,” also declared, early Sunday morning, the Russian Ministry of Defense using the Soviet name of Bakhmout.
kyiv, for its part, discreetly refuted the Russian statements, assuring that the Ukrainian regular armed forces continued to fight in a narrow zone, west of the city. Hanna Maliar, Deputy Defense Minister, conceded a ” critical situation ” And of “fierce fighting” while specifying that they continue to hold “certain industrial facilities and infrastructure”. The Ukrainian General Staff claimed on Facebook that “the fierce fighting for the city of Bakhmout does not stop”.
The Kremlin seems to have redoubled its efforts in the battle
On the phone, the young commander of a Ukrainian unit which continues to fight in the town of Ivanivske, south-west of Bakhmout, assures that he is not struck with defeatism. “I don’t have that kind of mindset because I know how many troops they sacrificed just to capture Bakhmout and how many more they will lose in the future for those kind of towns,” assures the man who responds to the nom de guerre of “Kyiv” (kyiv, in Ukrainian). Thus, the soldier prefers to mention the positive aspects: “Our soldiers are having good success around Bakhmout, it’s a reality. Last week, our forces reclaimed a lot of territory around the city. »
You have 68.65% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.