Zelenskyy denies Ukrainian city of Bakhmut occupied by Russian forces
CTV
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Russian forces weren't occupying Bakhmut, casting doubt on Moscow's insistence that the eastern Ukrainian city had fallen.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Russian forces weren't occupying Bakhmut, casting doubt on Moscow's insistence that the eastern Ukrainian city had fallen.
Responding to a reporter's question about the status of the city at the Group of Seven summit in Japan, Zelenskyy said: "Bakhmut is not occupied by the Russian Federation as of today."
"We are not throwing people (away) to die," Zelenskyy said in Ukrainian through an interpreter. "People are the treasure. I clearly understand what is happening in Bakhmut. I cannot share with you the technical details of what is happening with our warriors.".
"The fight for the city of Bakhmut is continuing," the Ukrainian military's general staff said in a statement on Sunday evening.
Oleksandr Syrskyi, a spokesman for the military's eastern command, said Ukrainian forces control the outskirts of the city, and "defense forces continue offensive actions on the flanks near Bakhmut."
The fog of war made it impossible to confirm the situation on the ground in the invasion's longest battle, and a series of comments from Ukrainian and Russian officials added confusion to the matter.
Zelenskyy's response in English to a question earlier at the summit about the status of Bakhmut suggested that he believed the city had fallen to Russian forces, and he offered solemn words about its fate.
