Ukraine Denies Fall of Bakhmut Again: "City Partially Encircled, Fighting Still Ongoing"

"Partial Encirclement Depending on Urban Aspect"

As Russia declared that it has completely captured Bakhmut, the largest battleground in eastern Ukraine, AFP and major foreign media reported on the 21st (local time) that Ukrainian forces claimed to have encircled parts of the city again and are engaged in combat.

Hanna Maliar, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, stated on the same day, "Our forces have partially encircled the city along the flanks of Bakhmut." She added, "We still control parts of the city."

On January 7th (local time), black smoke was rising in Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Several hours earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attended the Group of Seven (G7) summit held in Japan and mentioned regarding the situation in the region, "For now, Bakhmut remains in our hearts," which was interpreted as an implicit acknowledgment of the city's fall.

Shortly after, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian presidential office posted on Facebook, clarifying, "The president denied the fall of Bakhmut."

When President Zelensky was asked, "Is Bakhmut under Ukrainian control, or is Russia claiming to have taken over?" he replied, "It doesn't seem so," and the Ukrainian presidential office explained that this response was a denial of the city's fall.

The day before, Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian private military company Wagner Group, claimed to have fully taken control of Bakhmut.

The Russian Ministry of Defense also officially announced the capture of the city, and Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the "completion of the liberation operation" on the same day, creating an atmosphere in which the Russian side is treating the capture of Bakhmut after ten months of fierce fighting as a fait accompli.