Global Courant 2023-05-21 14:39:53
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Kyiv, May 21 (Reuters) – Ukrainian forces have partially surrounded the besieged eastern city of Bakhmut and still control part of the city, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on Sunday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier on Sunday congratulated Wagner’s mercenaries and the Russian army a day after Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said his group had taken the city.
But Maliar said Ukrainian forces have continued their advance past the outskirts of Bakhmut and have claimed some of the heights overlooking the city.
“Our forces have taken the city in a semi-encirclement, which gives us the opportunity to destroy the enemy,” she wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
“Therefore, the enemy must defend itself in the part of the city it controls.”
Maliar added that Ukrainian troops are still defending industrial and infrastructure facilities in Bakhmut, as well as a private sector of the city. (Reporting by Dan Peleschuk; editing by Elaine Hardcastle, William Maclean)
