MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th February, 2023) Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Russian military company the Wagner Group that is fighting in the Russian operation in Ukraine, said on Sunday that battles for the city of Bakhmut, also known as Artyomovsk, are waged for each street and house as Ukrainian troops are not backing down.
"Let me clarify the situation. The Ukrainian armed forces are not retreating anywhere. They fight to the last. Fierce battles are waged for every street, house and stairwell in the northern quarters of Artyomovsk," Prigozhin told reporters when asked to confirm reports about Ukrainian troops were retreating from Bakhmut, as quoted by the press service of his group Concord.
Prigozhin added that it was certainly reassuring to see media reports about Ukrainian servicemen withdrawing from the city, but in fact that was not the case.
The hotly contested Bakhmut, located north of the city of Donetsk, has been the center for fighting for months. It is an important transport hub for supplying Ukrainian troops stationed in Donbas amid the military operation launched by Russia in Ukraine a year ago.
