President Zelenskiy denies Russian forces have captured Bakhmut

KYIV Ukraine said yesterday that it was still fighting for control of the eastern city of Bakhmut, after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had said earlier that the city remained "only in our hearts."

Asked before a meeting with US President Joe Biden in Japan if the city was still in Ukraine's hands after the Russians said they had seized it in its entirety, Zelenskiy told reporters, "I think no."

He added: "For today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts."

Zelenskiy's press secretary later clarified that the leader was responding to a different part of the question.

"Reporter's question: Russians said they have taken Bakhmut," Sergii Nykyforov wrote on Facebook. "President's reply: I think no."

He added in Ukrainian: "In this way, the president denied the capture of Bakhmut."

Russia’s defence ministry said early yesterday that forces of the Wagner private army, with the support of Russian troops, seized the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

The ministry statement on the Telegram channel came about eight hours after a similar claim by Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin. Ukrainian authorities at that time said fighting for Bakhmut was continuing.

US President Joe Biden announced a new US$375 million package of military aid to Ukraine yesterday.

Meeting with the Ukrainian leader on the sidelines of the G7 summit of world leaders in Hiroshima, Japan, Biden said the military aid package included ammunition, artillery, armored vehicles and training.

"Together with the entire G7, we have Ukraine's back and I promise we're not going anywhere," Biden told Zelenskiy.

Biden discussed US support for a joint effort with allied and partner nations to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter aircraft such as the F-16, it said.

Zelenskiy thanked the United States for the new package, and for the financial assistance of $37 billion to date, his office said.

The eight-month battle for the city in eastern Ukraine is the longest and probably most bloody of the conflict in Ukraine.

Using the city's Soviet-era name, the Russian ministry said: “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."

Russian state news agencies cited the Kremlin's press service as saying 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.”

In a video posted earlier on Telegram, Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin said the city came under complete Russian control at about midday Saturday. He spoke flanked by about a half dozen fighters, with ruined buildings in the background and explosions heard in the distance.

After the video appeared, Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesman for Ukraine's eastern command, said that Prigozhin's claim “is not true. Our units are fighting in Bakhmut.” In a statement on Facebook, the Ukrainian General Staff said: “Heavy battles for the city of Bakhmut do not stop.”

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr

Zelensky, said: “This is not the first time Prigozhin has said ‘we seized everything and are dominating’.” He suggested that the Wagner chief's statement was aimed at drawing attention away from Zelensky's recent highly visible trips overseas, including to the Group of Seven summit in Japan on Saturday.

Fighting has raged in and around Bakhmut for more than eight months.

Russian forces will still face the massive task of seizing the remaining part of the Donetsk region still under Ukrainian control, including several heavily fortified areas.

It is not clear which side has paid a higher price in the battle for Bakhmut. Both Russia and Ukraine have endured losses believed to be in the thousands, though neither has disclosed casualty numbers.