War in Ukraine: Yevgeny Prigozhin considers it unlikely to capture Bakhmut within the next few days

Its head Russian private company WagnerThe Yevgeny Prigozhinstated in the early morning hours of Friday (19/5) that he considers it unlikely that Bahamut, the – almost completely destroyed – city of the eastern Ukrainian which has become one of its focal points war from summer 2022.

“It is unlikely that Bahamut will be fully occupied tomorrow or the day after tomorrow”Mr. Prigozhin said via Telegram overnight Thursday to Friday, referring to heavy fighting in southwestern districts of the city.

“Bahmut has not yet been captured. There is a district called “Samaliot”. It is an impregnable fortress. The toughest battles are being fought there right now.”said the head of Wagner. “So I have something important to ask: silence is golden. Let us finish the job”he added.

Ukraine’s military leadership said on Tuesday that its forces had recaptured 20 square kilometers of the Bakhmut district, but acknowledged that Russian forces were still advancing into the city itself, much of which is in ruins after months of fighting.

The battle for this city of Donbass is marked as the bloodiest and longest since the Russian army invaded the territory of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Western observers and officials question the strategic importance of the capture of Bakhmut for Russia. But in addition to giving Moscow the ability to tout a victory in the war, other analysts point out that it would allow Russian troops to move into other cities and complete the takeover of all of Donbas.

Wagner’s mercenaries are backed by Russian regular army units, but Mr Prigozhin often accuses the Russian military hierarchy of not providing his men with sufficient ammunition to take the city and has recently complained that army units have retreated, giving the potential Ukrainian army to flank its forces.

Another night of Russian raids across Ukrainian territory

Ukrainian military and civilian authorities announced in the early hours of Friday (19/5) that air defenses had been activated for another night in the capital Kyiv and other cities across the country.as the intensive Russian airstrikes of recent days continued.

Sirens sounded through the night in Kiev and other municipalities. Military officials reported explosions in Lviv and Rivne (west), as well as Kherson (south)..

“The anti-aircraft defense operates in the airspace of Kyiv. Stay in the shelters until the alert ends!”, the head of the capital’s military administration, Serhiy Popko, said via Telegram. His counterpart in the Krevni Ri (south) district, Oleksandr Vilkul, made a similar recommendation, speaking of “explosions”.

There are no reports of civilian casualties at this stage. Alerts began to be lifted a few hours after they were announced in Kiev, in central and southern regions; they remained in effect in eastern and western regions.

Earlier, the Ukrainian military said some targets were downed, without giving further details.

On the other hand, the Russian state news agency TASS reported that the city of Donetsk, which is controlled by pro-Russians, was bombarded with rockets. He gave no information on casualties or damage.

The night before, Kiev and other cities were targeted by a wave of missile strikes by Russian forces. The Ukrainian military assured that it had shot down almost all of the Russian missiles, while the Russian Defense Ministry, on the other hand, said that “all” targets were hit and “destroyed”.

The military command in Kiev has spoken of Russian attacks “unprecedented” in terms of their “power, intensity and diversity” this month.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Japan, Britain, the EU and the US announced new economic sanctions against Russia, particularly in the diamond sector, with the aim of curtailing Moscow’s ability to finance the war.