On the night of May 20-21, the Russian Defense Ministry and Vladimir Putin himself claimed that Russian forces, associated with the paramilitary group Wagner, had taken full control of the city of Bakhmout in Donbass. Saturday evening, the Ministry of Defense said that fighting was still going on, in the last western districts of the city. The spokesman for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied on Sunday morning that the latter had confirmed the capture of the city. But the outcome of the battle of Bakhmout is undoubtedly close or could suggest twists and turns.
With our correspondent in kyiv, Stephane Siohan
In recent days, the Ukrainian army only controlled blocks of buildings west of Bakhmout, maybe 5% of the communal territory, but Russian forces have accelerated operations in the past 48 hours, to the point that during the night from Friday to Saturday, Ukrainian soldiers were recording videos on their phones, announcing the fall of the city.
Saturday evening, the situation was confused. Yevgeny Prigozhinthe leader of the Wagner militia, announces the complete capture of the city, in a video recorded in the center of the city, displaying the Russian flag and the flag of Wagner.
>> To read also: Prigojine announces the complete capture of Bakhmout, the Ukrainian army denies
A matter of hours
As for Hanna Malyar, the Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister, she says that fighting is still taking place on the outskirts of Bakhmout and the Ukrainian authorities refuse to formalize the loss of the city.
In reality, the Russians may have seized the entire municipal territory of Bakhmut, or it is imminent, but the two sides are engaged in a communication war, while the Ukrainians carry out counterattacks on the flanks north and south of Bakhmout. The fall of Bakhmout is probably only a matter of hours away, a pill that is probably hard to swallow, but it cannot be ruled out that the Ukrainians have transformed the destroyed city into a trap for the Russians.