The town of Bakhmout, the epicenter of the fighting in eastern Ukraine, is “practically surrounded” by Russian forces, the head of the Wagner paramilitary group said on Friday.
“Wagner’s units have practically surrounded Bakhmout, there is only one way left” to get out, Yevgeny Prigojine said in a video posted on Telegram by his press service.
Wagner calls for the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops
Prigozhin, whose men are on the front lines in this battle, called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to order Ukrainian troops to withdraw from the city, now largely destroyed and where both sides have suffered heavy casualties.
“If before we were faced with a professional Ukrainian army, which was fighting against us, today we see more and more old people and children. They are fighting, but their life in Bakhmout is short, one or two days,” launched Mr. Prigojine.
“Give them a chance to get out of the city, it’s practically fenced off,” he added.
The video then shows three people, an old man and two young men, asking Zelensky on camera to let them leave.
A symbol of the struggle for Donbass
Despite its strategic importance disputed by experts, Bakhmout has become a symbol of the struggle for control of the industrial region of Donbass. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was there in December, had vowed to defend this fortress city “as long as possible.”
The Ukrainian military command admitted on Tuesday an “extremely tense” situation there in the face of Russian attacks. Russian forces have advanced north and south of Bakhmut in recent weeks, cutting off three of Ukraine’s four supply routes to the city. The only remaining exit route was the one that led further west towards Chassiv Iar, south of which the Russians were also trying to advance.
Source: BFM TV
