Zelensky maintains that Bahmut is still under Ukrainian control
Ukraine declared on Sunday that it is still fighting for control of the city of Bahmut in the east, after President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier stated that the city remained "only in our hearts," according to Reuters.
When asked before a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in Japan if the city is still in Ukrainian hands after the Russians claimed to have fully seized it, Zelensky told reporters, "I don't think so." He added, "For today, Bahmut is only in our hearts."
Zelensky's spokesperson later clarified that the president was responding to a different part of the question. "The reporter's question: The Russians said they took Bahmut," Sergii Nikiforov wrote on Facebook. "The president's response: I don't think so."
He further stated in Ukrainian, "In this way, the president denied the capture of Bahmut."
Russia claimed on Saturday that it had fully captured the devastated city in eastern Ukraine, which, if true, would mark the end of the longest and bloodiest battle in the 15-month war.
"It's a tragedy," Zelensky said. "There's nothing left in this place."
The attack on the largely destroyed city was led by troops from the Wagner mercenary group, whose leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, earlier in the day claimed that his forces had finally pushed the Ukrainians out of the last built-up area within the city.
