The media write that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, allegedly confirmed the loss of Bakhmut. His press secretary Serhiy Nikiforov denied this.
According to Nikiforov, the question sounded like this:
— The Russians said they took Bakhmut.
- I think not.
"In this way, the president denied the capture of Bakhmut," Nikiforov emphasized.
Also, in a comment to journalist Christopher Miller, Zelenskyiʼs team explained that the "city is lost" in the sense that it is completely destroyed.
Before that, the Reuters agency wrote that Zelensky, before meeting with US President Joe Biden in Japan, allegedly confirmed the loss of Bakhmut and said that "today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts."
On May 20, "PVK Wagner" announced that it had completely captured Bakhmut, Ukraine denied this. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced in the morning of May 21 that Russia continues to advance in the direction of Bakhmut, and the fighting for the city of Bakhmut does not stop.
- The Ukrainian military is simultaneously advancing on the northern and southern outskirts of Bakhmut in order to collapse the flanks of the "Wagnerians" who are storming the city itself. All that was left was to capture a dozen high-rise buildings and a small part of the private sector in order to completely occupy Bakhmut. But at the same time, the Ukrainian army is trying to break through the Russian defense around Bakhmut and, if successful, surround it.
- On May 20, The New York Times newspaper wrote that Ukrainian troops managed to advance near Bakhmut, taking advantage of the conflict between "Vagner PMC" and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.