The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed on Saturday evening that they had captured the town of Bahmut in eastern Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated both regular Russian soldiers and members of the Wagner mercenary army.
The Russian authorities refer to the city of Bahmut by the old Soviet name of Artyomovsk. “Thanks to the offensive actions of Wagner’s assault units with the support of the artillery and aviation of the southern group of forces, the liberation of Artyomovsko was completed,” the Russian Ministry of Defense announced.
The leader of the Russian mercenary army Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin already announced on Saturday that his troops had fully occupied Bahmut. At the time, Ukraine denied his allegations and announced that the situation was “critical”. They have not yet responded to the latest message from the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Russian President Vladimir Putin he congratulated the regular soldiers and the Wagnerites for the “liberation” of the city. “At the end of the operation to liberate the city, President Putin congratulated the Wagner assault units as well as all the members of the Russian Armed Forces who provided them with the necessary support and flanking cover.the Kremlin announced.
The largest land battle since World War II
The battle for Bahmut was the longest in the 15 months since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The clashes lasted more than seven months, or according to Prigožin, “224 days”.
The devastated city, which once housed more than 70,000 people, was left with virtually no civilian population. Due to the large number of fallen soldiers on both sides, according to Reuters, it is the bloodiest land battle in Europe since World War II.
Gaps between the Russian army and Wagner
Since the start of the offensive, Russia has argued that the capture of Bakhmut is key to advancing Russian forces deeper into Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, which Russia annexed last year. Ukraine, on the other hand, claims that the goal in Bahmut was to draw Russian forces elsewhere, inflict heavy losses there and weaken Moscow’s defense line before a planned major counter-offensive.
The Russian offensive on Bahmut also highlighted the gap between the Russian army and the Wagner mercenary group. In his Saturday message about the capture of Bahmut, Prigozhin also criticized Moscow, as it was said that due to the “whims” of the defense minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valeria Gerasimov “five times as many people died as they should have”. He thanked Putin for the “opportunity and great honor to defend the homeland”.
Source: Rtvslo
