The City in the Heart

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Russian troops took control of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, the Kremlin announced Sunday, after more than eight months of fighting that has left most of the besieged city in ruins and resulted in an unknown number of casualties on both sides, Sky News reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated his troops and members of the mercenary Wagner Group for capturing the city. Wagner chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, confirmed Bakhmut’s capture.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a somber statement, saying there is “nothing left” in Bakhmut and the invading Russian forces had “destroyed everything.”

“For today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts,” he added.

His response was issued in Japan where Zelenskyy was attending the Group of Seven summit in an attempt to rally international support for Ukraine. During the summit, US President Joe Biden announced $375 million more in aid for Ukraine, which included more ammunition, artillery and vehicles, according to the Associated Press.

Despite Zelenskyy’s statement, Ukrainian officials explained that his comments did not mean the city had fallen. Ukraine’s defense ministry said Kyiv’s forces had partly encircled the area and still controlled a section of Bakhmut.

Bakhmut, located in the Donetsk province, had around 80,000 people before the war and was an important industrial center – it hosts salt and gypsum mines nearby.

The city saw the longest battle of the war that began in February 2022. Both Russia and Ukraine are believed to have suffered tens of thousands of losses there, although neither has disclosed casualty numbers.

Control for the city was symbolic for Ukraine: Zelenskyy had said that its fall could allow Russia to gain support for a peace deal that might require Kyiv to make unacceptable compromises.

Bakhmut’s capture was also particularly important for Prigozhin. The Russian oligarch had tried to use the months-long battle to expand his influence amid growing tensions with the top Russian military leaders whom he has harshly criticized.

Political analysts noted that Bakhmut’s fall deals a blow to Ukraine and offers some tactical advantages to Russia. However, they added that it will not prove decisive to the outcome of the war.

Russian forces still face the arduous task of capturing the remaining parts of the Donetsk region that are still under Ukrainian control, including a number of strongly fortified locations. The Donbas region, comprised of the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, is Ukraine’s industrial hub and was the starting point of a separatist uprising in 2014.

In September, Moscow illegally annexed the region.

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