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According to British military experts, most of the eastern part of the embattled Ukrainian city of Bakhmut is now under the control of the Russian mercenary group Wagner. The river Bakhmutka, which flows through the city center, is now the front line, the British Ministry of Defense said in a report on Saturday. The west, on the other hand, is still held by the Ukrainian army, which has destroyed important bridges.
British see most of East Bakhmut in Russian hands© Provided by APA
According to its boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian mercenary group Wagner needs 10,000 tons of ammunition per month for the battle for Bakhmut. In a video released on Saturday, Prigozhin emphatically demanded the delivery of artillery shells and cartridges. The video allegedly shows him on the roof of a house in the largely destroyed city - about 1.2 kilometers from the administrative center, which is held by Ukrainian troops. Prigozhin announced: "We will win."
Many destroyed houses and streets could be seen in the video - comparatively rare shots from the city, which once had 70,000 inhabitants. Only a few thousand live there today. The Wagner boss assured that no one in Moscow should have concerns that he had political ambitions. Therefore, the required quantities of ammunition should be delivered to him without reservations. Russia's billionaires are also ready for this expenditure. He put the monthly costs at half a billion US dollars (about 470 million euros).
Prigozhin admitted in the video that corruption was widespread in his homeland. But he would "take his own corrupt connections with him to the grave". Then the 61-year-old lined up for "an important announcement". Under audible gunfire, he announced that he would stand as a candidate in next year's presidential election - not in Russia, as was sometimes assumed, but "in Ukraine". He will compete against incumbent Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his predecessor Petro Poroshenko. The Wagner boss is notorious for making fun of his opponents.
Zelenskyy wants to hold the strategically important city of Bakhmut at all costs. Bachmut has been contested since late summer. The city is the main part of the line of defense between Siversk and Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, established after the Russian conquest of Sieverodonetsk and Lysychansk. If successful, the way to the major cities of Slovjansk and Kramatorsk opened up for the Russian troops. This brought a complete conquest of the Donetsk region closer
