Conflicting information has emerged regarding who controls the Ukrainian town of Bachmut.
The city is one of the hardest hit in the country – and among the residents of the nearby cities, there is growing concern about becoming the next target.
Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has claimed that they occupied Bachmut. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, for his part, believes that the Ukrainian city was not captured by the Russian forces. Whatever the case, one thing is certain: The devastation in the city is enormous.
Among the civilian population there is a concern. In Bachmut, but also in the neighboring towns. Kostiantynivka is only half an hour from Bachmut and there the thoughts of being the next target are terrifying.
– When you are far from the front, you are more radical. It applies on both sides. “You have to fight to the last man”. But when you are in between, when your life has become a game piece, then you are more careful, says resident Serhiy.
“Completely blown apart city”
– Sometimes we are scared, but we hope it will go well. We have to work for the soldiers who come here from Bachmut to trade. We support them with our smiles, says Viktoriia.
TV4 News’ foreign correspondent Jonas Källgren is in Ukraine. He emphasizes that the scale of the damage in Bachmut is unique.
– Such devastation as you see in Bachmut can probably only be compared to the devastation you saw from Mariupol when the Russians captured that city. A completely blown-up city, where it doesn’t look like a single building survived without damage, he says.