Putin congratulates the Russian Army and Wagner for the capture of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut

The announcement of the conquest of Bakhmut coincides with the anniversary of the capture of Mariupol

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The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, congratulated this Sunday the Army and the Russian mercenary group Wagner for the capture of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

Putin has also praised the support provided and the flank coverage provided by the troops of the Russian Armed Forces to Wagner’s assault groups, and has announced decorations for those who “have excelled”, according to the Kremlin press service cited above. by the Russian chain RBK.

The head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeni Prigozhin, had already announced this Saturday that Bakhmut, one of the most important fronts in the war in Ukraine, had been conquered by Russian forces in a statement immediately denied by the Ukrainian Army.

Prigozhin, in a message to Russian state radio and television VGTRK, assured that his mercenaries intend to completely transfer control of Bakhmut to Russian regular forces “by May 25.”

kyiv announced on Friday that during the week it had made significant gains on the front line in Bakhmut, and there was even speculation about a possible encirclement of Wagner’s forces.

Despite the fact that Prigozhin continued to reproach the high command of the Russian Army during the week for the abandonment to which his mercenaries had been relegated, the British Ministry of Defense estimated on Saturday that Russia had begun a new deployment of forces on the front four days ago. from the city.

ANNIVERSARY OF THE CONQUEST OF MARIUPOL

The announcement of the capture of Bakhmut, an operation that has lasted more than nine months, has coincided with the anniversary of the conquest of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, the Rossiya 24 news channel has reported.

Mariupol, in the southeast of Ukraine and on the shores of the Azov Sea, was the scene of intense fighting during the early stages of the war until it finally fell into the hands of Russian troops in combat that caused the death of at least 25,000 people, according to Ukrainian authorities.