Russia celebrates alleged conquest of Bachmut

 

Russian invasion  

"Do not believe" the city is in the hands of Ukraine  

Zelensky on the fighting in Bachmut at the G7 meeting 

 

Of:  

 

Lukas Jacobson  

 

Published: Today 06.01 

 

Updated: Less than 10 min ago  

 

NEWS 

 

Russia has begun to celebrate success in Bachmut.  

 

Putin congratulates and Prigozhin is grateful.  

At the G7 meeting in Hiroshima, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was asked if the city is in "Ukraine's hands": 

 

- No, I don't think so, the president said then.  

 

Now Zelensky says that the city is not occupied, reports Sky News.  

 

The information about who controls and makes advances in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bachmut has diverged many times. The only thing that the Wagner group, the Kremlin and Ukraine could agree on is that bloody and fierce battles took place there.  

 

The latest bid comes from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi. During a conversation with Joe Biden at the G7 meeting in Hiroshima, the president was asked questions about the past 24 hours' different information regarding Bachmut's fate.  

 

Zelenskyy then said that he does not believe that the city is in "Ukrainian hands", according to Bloomberg's White House correspondent Jnne Leonard, among others. 

 

- But you must understand, there is nothing left. Bachmut exists today only in our hearts, says Zelensky.  

During yesterday, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin first claimed that they had taken control of the city. His paramilitary has been leading Russia's part in the assault on the city. And "Putin's cook", as he has been called, has repeatedly denied various claims.  

 

Among other things, he believed that the Wagner Group should withdraw from Bachmut after the Russian Victory Day on May 9, which they did not do. Already in January, he claimed that Bachmut's neighboring town of Soledar had been captured, which both Russia and Ukraine rejected.

 

Ukrainian President Zelensky and US President Joe Biden at the G7 meeting in Japan. Photo: Susan Walsh/AP 

 

"Vladimir Putin has congratulated the Wagner group," says the Kremlin. Photo: AP TT NEWS AGENCY  

 

Congratulations Wagner 

 

This time, in any case, the Russian parties seem to be in agreement and they have begun to celebrate alleged successes. On Saturday, President Putin came out and thanked Wagner for their work in "freeing" Bachmut, Russian news agency Tass reports.  

 

"Vladimir Putin has congratulated the Wagner group and all Russian troops who contributed to the completion of the operation to liberate Artyomovsk," the Kremlin writes in a statement. 

 

The Russian power center, the Kremlin, also writes that anyone who "distinguished himself in battle will be recommended to receive Russian war decorations".  

 

The Russian Ministry of Defense issued the same information as Prigozhin late on Saturday evening, that Bachmut would be under Russian control.  

 

"The Wagner group has, with the support of artillery and air strikes from the southern battle group, liberated the city of Artyomovsk," writes the department.  

 

Prigozhin claims that Bachmut is conquered, but remains irritated with the military leadership in Russia. Photo: AP  

 

Still mad at management  

 

After many twists and turns with internal conflicts, where Prigozhin has repeatedly criticized Russia's handling of Bachmut, the Russian side has agreed on what is happening at the front. 

 

- The operation to capture Bachmut, the "meat grinder", took 224 days, Prigozhin said in a video published on Telegram, according to the Moscow Times.

 

 

rasimov, President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev /AP 

 

However, Prigozhin's irritation with Russian Defense Chief Valery Gerasimov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu lives on. He accuses the state military of causing five times more soldiers than should have died. 

 

- It was only Wagner here. We didn't just fight Ukrainians here, we fought the Russian bureaucracy, he says. 

 

However, he is grateful to Putin.  

 

- Because he gave us the chance and great honor to defend the motherland.  

 

Experts believe that Bachmut has no major strategic importance in the war. Rather, it would be a symbolically important conquest for Putin, as it would be Russia's first military success in the war in over ten months. 

  

Yevgeny Prigozhin, "Putin's cook", serves a meal to Putin. Photo: Misha Japaridze / AP  

 

Volodymyr Zelenskyy hopes for more support. On Saturday, the leaders of the G7 countries met at the summit in Japan, including French President Emmanuel Macron. Photo: AP  

Contradictory information 

Last night, Ukraine said that Putin's congratulations on the success were unwarranted. 

- Fierce battles are going on in Bachmut. The situation is critical, says the country's Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Malyar on Telegram. 

- Right now, our defense has control over certain industrial and infrastructure facilities in the area. 

Just hours later, the message came from Zelensky.  

At the same time, Kiev is preparing a counter-offensive against Russia. The counter-offensive has been in the starting pits for a long time and it was speculated that it had started in connection with Ukraine claiming success in Bachmut.  

The satellite image shows an area in Bachmut in May 2022 – and the same area in May 2023