According to their own statements, the Russian mercenary group Wagner has conquered the entire eastern part of Bakhmut. “Everything east of the Bakhmutka River is under the complete control of the private security company Wagner,” said Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin in an audio recording distributed by his press service today.
The Ukrainian side has not yet confirmed this partial withdrawal. The information cannot be verified independently either.
Kiev wants to continue holding the “Bakhmut Fortress”.
The fight for Bachmut has been going on for months. The Wagner mercenary group operating there on the Russian side has meanwhile encircled the city from the east, north and south. Nevertheless, Kiev wants to keep the “Fortress Bakhmut”, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed again last night in his daily video address.
However, there had already been reports from independent military observers that there were indications that the eastern part of Bakhmut had been abandoned. The defenders were only holding a smaller bridgehead there anyway. The Bakhmutka River, which runs through the city, could now serve as a natural barrier for the defenders to make further Russian attacks from that direction more difficult. However, it remains important for Ukraine to secure the access routes in the west in order to supply the garrison with supplies.
