Ukraine mocks Russian claim to have captured mining city of Bakhmut
This photograph taken on March 26, 2023, shows a Ukrainian T-72 tank fires at Russian positions on the front line near Bakhmut, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Sergey Shestak | Afp | Getty Images
Ukraine scorned Russian claims to have captured the eastern city of Bakhmut on Monday, saying its foes had raised a victory flag over "some kind of toilet" while combat was raging.
The battle for Bakhmut, a mining city and logistics hub, has been one of the bloodiest of the conflict, now in its second year, with many casualties on both sides and the city largely destroyed by bombardments.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary force spearheading the siege, said on Sunday his troops had raised a Russian flag on the city-center administrative building even though Ukrainian soldiers still held some positions.
"From a legal point of view, Bakhmut has been taken," he said in a video on Telegram. "The enemy is concentrated in the western parts."
Prigozhin has previously made premature claims.
Ukraine's military said fighting was still raging around Bakhmut's city council building, as well as in several other nearby towns.
"Bakhmut is Ukrainian and they have not captured anything and are very far from doing that," Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the eastern military command, told Reuters.
"They raised the flag over some kind of toilet. They attached it to the side of who knows what, hung their rag and said they had captured the city. Well good, let them think they've taken it," Cherevatyi added by telephone.
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Reuters
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