Key Donbass city Bakhmut Completely Liberated by Russians. President Putin Congratulates Troops on Battefield Success

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On the cover image Evgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner private military company, with his fighters

Introduction by Gospa News Editorial Staff

The city of Artyomovsk (also known as Bakhmut) has been completely liberated in the course of the special military operation in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Sunday.

“In the Artyomovsk tactical direction, the assault teams of the Wagner private military company with the support of artillery and aviation of the southern battlegroup has completed the liberation of the city of Artyomovsk,” the ministry stated, as reported by Tass Russian News Agency.

Artyomovsk is located in the north of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and it served as a major transportation hub for the Ukrainian army’s supplies in Donbass. Fierce fighting to liberate the city started on August 1, 2022.

The battle for this city is one of the largest battles during the liberation of Donbass since 2014. Some 72,000 people lived in Artyomovsk before the battle started.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated members of the Wagner private military company and regular soldiers with liberating the Donbass city of Artyomovsk, also known as Bakhmut, from the Ukrainian army, the Kremlin said in the early hours of Sunday.

Key Donbass city captured – Wagner chief

Originally published by Russia Today

The key Donbass city of Artyomovsk, known as Bakhmut in Ukraine, has been fully liberated by the Russian forces, Evgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner private military company has announced.

“Today at noon, Bakhmut was fully captured,” Prigozhin said in a video address published on Saturday.

The last part of an area of high-rise buildings where the Ukrainians were holed up is now under the control of Russian forces, he stated. The Wagner Group will remain in Artyomovsk until Thursday, Prigozhin said, adding that during this period, fortifications will be created across the city.

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“Today at noon, Bakhmut was fully captured,”Prigozhin said in a video address published on Saturday. The last part of an area of high-rise buildings where the Ukrainians were holed up is now under the control of Russian forces, he stated.

The Wagner Group will remain in Artyomovsk until Thursday, Prigozhin said, adding that during this period, fortifications will be created across the city. Control will then be passed on to the Russian Defense Ministry, and Wagner Group servicemen will go on leave to rest and regroup following months of intense fighting.

According to Prigozhin, the PMC’s operation in the city, which he called ‘the Bakhmut meat-grinder’, had gone on for 224 days. “We’ve taken the whole city – every building – so that nobody could say that we didn’t capture some small part of it,” he said.

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Kiev has denied Prigozhin’s claims that Artyomovsk has been captured. Ukrainian military spokesman Sergey Cherevaty told Reuters: “This is not true. Our units are fighting in Bakhmut.”

The Wagner chief also personally addressed Ukraine’s president, Vladimir Zelensky, saying, “without sarcasm” that the Ukrainian troops “fought bravely, fought well” defending Artyomovsk.

“Today, when you see [US President Joe] Biden, kiss him on the top of his head and tell him that I said ‘hi,’” he said.

Earlier on Saturday, Zelensky arrived at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, where he is expected to hold talks with Biden.

Originally published by Russia Today

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