Zelensky Denies Bakhmut has fallen in love with Biden, as he pledged his support for the people of Ukraine
Urban Rebellion in Artyomovsk, Ukraine: Prigozhin’s First Retardation on May 6, 2014 and the Russian Capture of Bakhmut
As the fighting shifted back to block-by-block fighting, reinforcements were brought in to shore up rear positions and protect supply lines to western Bakhmut. And they focused on attacking Russian positions to the north and south of the city. A battle on May 6 breached Russian lines south of the village of Ivanivske and forced Russian soldiers into a disorganized retreat.
Among the questions for Russia are the intentions of Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary company that spearheaded the urban fighting, who on Saturday declared victory in Bakhmut and said his soldiers would withdraw from the city by Thursday. Military analysts were not sure if Mr. Prigozhin would be able to pull out so quickly along the front line that it would not have a detrimental effect on Russians in the city.
The Russian ministry statement on the Telegram channel came about eight hours after a similar claim by Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin. The Ukrainian authorities said at that time that fighting was continuing.
Few buildings were intact because of the ferocious Russian house-to-house battles. Wagner fighters “marched on the bodies of their own soldiers” according to Ukrainian officials. Both sides have spent ammunition at a rate unseen in any armed conflict for decades, firing thousands of rounds a day.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said taking the city would allow Russia to push its offensive further into one of the Ukrainian provinces that it annexed in September.
The rebels gained control of the city quickly after Russia’s annexation of the peninsula in 2014, but lost it a few months later.
The city of Artyomovsk was named after a Bolshevik revolutionary who was part of the Soviet Union. It is a popular tourist destination due to it’s broad tree-lined avenues, lush parks and imposing late 19th-century mansions.
Bakhmut, located about 55 kilometers (34 miles) north of the Russian-held regional capital of Donetsk, had a prewar population of 80,000 and was an important industrial center, surrounded by salt and gypsum mines.
The Russian capture of the last remaining ground in Bakhmut is “not tactically or operationally significant,” a Washington-based think tank said late Saturday evening. The Institute for the Study of War said that taking control of these areas “does not grant Russian forces operationally significant terrain to continue conducting offensive operations,” nor to “to defend against possible Ukrainian counterattacks.”
They aren’t certain who paid a higher price in the battle for Bakhmut. Both Russia and Ukraine have endured losses believed to be in the thousands, though neither has disclosed casualty numbers.
Russian forces will still face the massive task of seizing the remaining part of the Donetsk region still under Ukrainian control, including several heavily fortified areas.
In a video posted earlier on Telegram, Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin said the city came under complete Russian control at about midday Saturday. He spoke flanked by about a half dozen fighters, with ruined buildings in the background and explosions heard in the distance.
The Russian ministry stated that the liberation of Artyomovsk was accomplished using the city’s Soviet-era name.
Speaking alongside U.S. President Joe Biden at the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Zelenskyy said he believed the city had fallen, but added: “You have to understand that there is nothing,” saying of the Russians, “They destroyed everything.”
After Russia’s defense ministry reported that the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine had been seized, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a statement saying the city was “only in our hearts.”
At a critical time, the meeting came at the right time, as Russia recently claimed victory over the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut which had become a hub for fighting between Russian-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces. Ukraine says it still has troops fighting and is not giving up.
The final neighborhood of high-rise apartment blocks, reaching an expanse of garages, farmhouses and open fields to the west, was fought through by Russian forces in recent days. The Ukrainian military said on Sunday it still holds several buildings in that area.
It also was unclear whether Russian reinforcements deployed toward Bakhmut would rotate in for Wagner troops or bolster Russia’s faltering defenses on the city’s outskirts.
The city is in ruins, and even if Russian forces were able to control it, it wouldn’t have much effect on Moscow’s plans to conquer the entire eastern region of Donbas.
What did Zelenskyy tell India during the G-7 invasion? — A re-energising support for India and the U.S
Zelenskyy tried to win over Modi. While the Indian prime minister promised he would try to end the war, his attitude was the same.
Modi was buying Russian oil and gas to undermine efforts by the West to hurt Russia’s economy through economic sanctions.
The G-7 was an opportunity for Zelenskyy to reach out to world leaders who have been reluctant to denounce Russia, like India’s prime minister Narendra Modi.
Ukrainian defense officials have called the aircraft a game changer and its been on the country’s wish list since the start of the Russian invasion. The new aid comes as Ukraine prepares to kickoff counter-offensives to take back occupied land.
Biden supports training Ukrainian pilots on American-made F-16 fighter jets, so other countries can send those planes to Ukraine. The president said Zelenskyy assured him that Ukraine would not use the jets to strike targets inside Russia.
The G-7 summit is an annual gathering among the world’s richest and largest democracies — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the U.S. — to address the most urgent international issues and coordinate on global policy.
Zelenskyy went to Japan on the weekend to talk to world leaders about the progress in Ukraine, and re-energising support from allies.
