According to the TASS news agency, Ukrainian President Zelensky said at a press conference held on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) Hiroshima summit on the 21st that the Ukrainian army remained in Bakhmut and that the city was not occupied by Russia. On the 21st, Ukrainian President’s Press Secretary Nikiforov also clarified Zelensky’s previous claim that Bakhmut’s fall was suspected. Nikiforov said that the reporter asked two questions at the same time: “Is Bakhmut still in Ukrainian hands?” It is for the second question.
Ukrainian army commander Sersky said on the 21st that the Ukrainian army continued to advance along the flanks of the outskirts of Bakhmut and was controlling the city in the form of a tactical encirclement. Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Mariar said on the 21st that the Russian army failed to encircle Bakhmut and that it lost some of the dominant highlands around the city. Malial said that the Ukrainian army formed a semi-encirclement state on Bakhmut, and the Russian army had to defend the part it controlled. The Ukrainian army still maintains control of industry and infrastructure in the “Samolet” district southwest of Bakhmut.
Prigozhin, the founder of the Russian private military group “Wagner”, said on social media on the 21st that Bakhmut did not have a single Ukrainian soldier: “All Bakhmut’s territory is under control. Zelensky is either lying or simply doesn’t know what’s going on there.”
Fighting is still intense.
According to the battle report released by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the 22nd, the Ukrainian side still has not confirmed the news of Bakhmut’s fall. According to the news released by it, Bakhmut and Marinka are still the centres of the Russian army’s offensive operations. In the direction of Rinca, on the 21st, there were 37 battles between the two sides in the above direction. The Ukrainian Air Force Command announced on the 22nd that the Russian army launched an attack on the military and infrastructure of the Dnieper River on the evening of the 21st. In the early morning of the 22nd, the Ukrainian Air Defence Force shot down 20 Russian drones and four cruise missiles.
The Ukrainian State Nuclear Power Company announced on the 22nd that due to the shelling by the Russian army in the early morning of the same day, the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant lost power again at about 5:26 that day, shutting down the last high-voltage transmission line. Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said that this is the seventh time that the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant has entered a power outage mode, and the current situation of the nuclear power plant is “extremely fragile”.
According to the “Russia-24” TV channel, Pushilin, the acting leader of the “Donetsk People’s Republic”, said on the 22nd that preliminary demining work on Bakhmut has begun, and Russian forces are checking whether there are explosives in the construction fortifications. At present, the Russian army is still advancing in the direction of Avdeyevka and Malinka, although the Ukrainian army command continues to mobilise reinforcements in both directions and test the Russian defence.