The ministry attached the video with a comment that read, “Bakhmut before and after the Russian invasion.”
The leader of the Russian “Wagner” group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said on Wednesday that more than 20,000 of his men had died in the long battle to control Bakhmut.
Analysts estimate that the nine-month battle for control of Bakhmut alone claimed the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers, including convicts who would have received little training before being pushed to the front lines.
On Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced full control of the city of Bakhmut.
“The attack teams of the Wagner military group, with the support of artillery and aviation of the southern battle group, completed the liberation of the city of Artyomovsk (Bakhmut),” the news agency said. Russian “TASS”, citing the Ministry of Defense. in a report.
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated the “Wagner” group and the army of his country after announcing the control of the city of Bakhmut, according to a statement from the Kremlin relayed by Russian news agencies.
And the agency “TASS” reported a statement from the Kremlin stating that “Putin congratulated the offensive units of Wagner, as well as all the soldiers of the units of the Russian Armed Forces who provided them with the necessary support to carry out the operation liberation of Artemovsk (Bakhmut)”. the Soviet name of Bakhmut.
However, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Wednesday that “heavy fighting” continued inside Bakhmut.
And Ukrainian ground forces commander Oleksandr Sersky said Kiev forces “continued their defensive operation in Bakhmut” and had achieved “successes on the outskirts of the city”, without giving further details.
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