
Ukraine has started withdrawing its troops from the embattled Bakhmut, as Russia inches closed to one of its major victories this year, Sky News reported.
Russia's Wagner private army chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in a video posted on social media said that only one road out of Bakhmut remains under Ukrainian control and called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to abandon the city.
“Units of the private military company Wagner have practically surrounded Bakhmut,” Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin said, appearing in combat uniform in a video posted on Telegram.
“Only one route [out] is left,” he said. “The pincers are closing.”
A top Ukrainian presidential adviser told CNN on Tuesday that Kyiv was considering leaving the eastern city, which has been blasted to ruins by Russian artillery.
“So far they’ve held the city, but if need be, they will strategically pull back because we’re not going to sacrifice all of our people just for nothing,” Alexander Rodnyansky was quoted as saying.
Bakhmut is located in Donetsk province—one of four provinces illegally annexed by Russia last fall. Kremlin controls half of the Donetsk province.
In order to seize control of the remaining half of that province, Russian forces must pass through Bakhmut, which will then pave the way for bigger Ukrainian cities.
This is the second Ukrainian city that has fallen to its foe Russia. In January, Moscow was able to take control of the salt mining town of Soledar through sheer force.
(With inputs from agencies)
Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.
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