As his forces approached and entered the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, a new video showed Yevgeny Prigozhin, commander of the Russian military Wagner Group, confirming that the city was completely surrounded.
And he explained in a video clip today, Friday, that one way out for Ukrainian forces is still open.
He also called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to withdraw his troops from the city, which Wagner had been trying to capture for months.
Beyond the West
Simultaneously, an al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath correspondent explained that Wagner’s forces had failed to break into the town of Khrumava, northwest of Bakhmut, but indicated that Russian fighters were still advancing deep into the town from all but western directions.
Prigozhin’s statement came after yesterday Wagner posted photos of her soldiers on one of her Telegram accounts, saying they had entered the center of Bakhmut, noting that she had previously announced the entry into the strategic city a few weeks ago. However, the Russian army denied this.
fierce fighting
During the last hours, the city had witnessed fierce and furious fighting, as Wagner’s forces advanced from various directions towards its center, unable to penetrate from the western side.
Meanwhile, some Ukrainian officials have recently hinted that a way out is possible.
It is noteworthy that for several weeks or even months there have been fierce battles for control over Bakhmut, which Moscow considers important, since control over it will open the way for it to complete control over the rest of the Donbass, a strategic industrial area and one of the main goals of the military operation that began February 24 last year on adjacent lands.
On the other hand, Kyiv underestimates the importance of this city, regarding its strategic importance as limited.
