After the Russian occupation of the strategically important city of Bakhmut in Ukraine, the forces of Kiev have once again begun to besiege the city.
According to Reuters, a top Ukrainian general said they still hold part of Bakhmut, which would give them a way into the city that could turn the tide in their favour.
It should be noted that after fifteen months of long fighting, on Saturday, Russia announced the complete occupation of Bakhmut.
For this great success in Russia, President Vladimir Putin appreciated the services of his national army and the men of the paramilitary Wagner Group.
“Kiev troops are advancing towards Bakhmut and are close to encircling the city,” Ukrainian General Alexander Sersky said in a post on the social networking site Telegram.
Commander Oleksandr Sersky added that he had visited the front line near Bakhmut, where fighting has been going on for several months.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Hana Maliar has also confirmed the advance of her military forces towards Bakhmut.
The Defence Minister said that our army has surrounded the city; this is an opportunity for us to destroy the enemy. The enemy will have to defend themselves in that part of the city that is in their possession.
Hanna Maliar said that Ukrainian military forces are still defending industrial and basic infrastructure in Bakhmut.
In the statement issued by the Ukrainian army, it has been said that in the last twenty-four hours, Russia’s offensive operations around Bakhmut have not decreased, and the air attacks on the city and the village named Ivanivsky continue.
On Sunday, the head of Russia’s paramilitary force Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said in an audio message on Telegram that they were done and that Wagner’s troops would leave the battlefield in the next few days.
He said that all the areas that were promised to be taken over have been taken over to the last centimetre. We are handing over these areas to the Russian Ministry of Defence and will leave the war zone on May 25.
According to military analysts, the city of Bakhmut does not have a strategic position, but Moscow believes that its capture will allow it to get closer to the industrial region of Donbass, which was annexed by Russia.
According to US President Joe Biden, more than 100,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or injured in Bakhmut.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has compared the destruction in Bakhmut to the nuclear attack on Hiroshima during World War II.
Addressing the G7 summit in Japan on Sunday, President Zielinski said images of the destruction of Hiroshima reminded him of Bakhmut and other cities.