Categories
AP and Reuters

Zelenskiy says Bakhmut still in Ukraine“s hands

2023-05-21T07:52:18Z

Ukraine said on Sunday that it was still fighting for control of the eastern city of Bakhmut, after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had said earlier that the city remained “only in our hearts.”

Asked before a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in Japan if the city was still in Ukraine’s hands after the Russians said they had seized it in its entirety, Zelenskiy told reporters, “I think no.”

He added: “For today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts.”

Zelenskiy’s press secretary later clarified that the leader was responding to a different part of the question.

“Reporter’s question: Russians said they have taken Bakhmut,” Sergii Nykyforov wrote on Facebook. “President’s reply: I think no.”

He added in Ukrainian: “In this way, the president denied the capture of Bakhmut.”

Russia claimed on Saturday to have fully captured the smashed eastern Ukrainian city, which if true would mark an end to the longest and bloodiest battle of the 15-month war.

“It is tragedy,” Zelenskiy said. “There is nothing on this place.”

The assault on the largely levelled city was led by troops from the Wagner Group of mercenaries, whose leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said earlier in the day that his troops had finally pushed the Ukrainians out of the last built-up area inside the city.

Related Galleries:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during his meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden (not pictured), during the G7 Summit at the Grand Prince Hotel in Hiroshima, Japan, May 21, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Wagner mercenary group fighters wave flags of Russia and Wagner group on top of a building in an unidentified location, in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in this still image obtained from a video released on May 20, 2023, along with a statement by Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin about taking full control of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Press service of “Concord”/Handout via REUTERS
Advertisements
The World News And Times – theworldnewsandtimes.com – The News And Times | News Reviews In RSS Pages | Audio and Video Posts | AP and Reuters | Israel and the Middle East | Hamas – Wagner Group Attack: Analysis | Wagner Group and Gaza war | Israel and Orthodox Judaism