Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's response on Sunday appeared to confirm the news of the warring nation having lost the city of Bakhmut to Russia when he was asked if the region still is in Kyiv’s control.
"I think no," said Zelensky, while answering about the current status of Bakhmut as he sat alongside US President Joe Biden during a meeting which was being held on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
The difficulty he faced in speaking about the lost territory was reflected in his lengthy, emotional answer.
“You have to understand that there is nothing in this place... just ruins and a lot of dead Russians. They destroyed everything,” he added.
"But they came to us," he said, while speaking about the Russians. Zelensky stated that Ukraie's soldiers did "strong work" and "we appreciate their great job".
"For today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts. It is a tragedy,” he added.
On Saturday, Russia had claimed that it has fully captured the war-torn eastern Ukrainian city. The fall of the city will mark the end of the bloodiest and longest battle in the 15-month -old war till now.
The Wagner Group of mercenaries led the assault on the largely levelled Ukrainian city. Earlier, Wagner Group's leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said that the Ukrainians have been finally pushed out of the last built-up area inside the city.
The Russian ministry issued a statement on Telegram almost eight hours after Prigozhin's claims. However, Kyiv denied the claim made by Prigozhin and stated that the fight for Bakhmut is still going on.
Referring to the city through its Soviet-era name, the Russian ministry stated, “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 have completed the liberation of the city of Artyomovsk.”
The state news agencies of Russia had cited Kremlin’s press service as stating President Vladimir Putin “congratulates the Wagner assault detachments, as well as all servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces units, who provided them with the necessary support and flank protection, on the completion of the operation to liberate Artyomovsk.”
Biden unveils new arms, ammunition package for Kyiv
United States President Joe Biden on Sunday unveiled a new weapons package for Kyiv as he held talks with Zelensky in Hiroshima, which is likely to become part of a large-scale counteroffensive which will be soon launched to push Russians back from the occupied territories.
Biden stated that the package would include "ammunition, artillery, armoured vehicles". The announcement comes days after the country permitted allies to transfer advanced F-16 jets to Ukraine.
“The United States continues to help Ukraine respond, recover and rebuild. We're also supporting peace,” Biden stated.
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