Zelenskyy denies Russia's claim of Bakhmut's capture, likens destruction to Hiroshima

The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group insisted his fighters had taken control of Bakhmut, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the eastern city is no longer occupied by Moscow.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaking during a press conference at the G7 Summit Leaders' Meeting in Hiroshima, Japan. Source: Getty / Getty Images

Key Points

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Bakhmut is no longer occupied by Moscow.
• Bakhmut has been the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting in Russia's more than year-long invasion of Ukraine.
• The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group insists his fighters maintain control of the eastern city.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Bakhmut was "not occupied" by Moscow, while the head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group insisted his fighters had taken control of the eastern city "to the last centimetre."

Kyiv's military said it was hanging on to a small part of the city and said its troops were advancing on its flanks.

Bakhmut, a salt-mining town that once had a population of 70,000 people, has been the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting in Moscow's more than year-long Ukraine offensive.

A Ukrainian soldier preparing equipment on a mission to the front south of Bakhmut, Donetsk. Source: Getty / Anadolu Agency

A day earlier, Wagner and Moscow's regular army claimed to have fully captured Bakhmut, with Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulating them on the alleged conquest.

But speaking at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Mr Zelenskyy denied Russia's claims.

"Bakhmut is not occupied by Russia today," he said during a press conference.

"I cannot share with you the tactical views of our military. The most difficult thing would be if there was some tactical mistake in Bakhmut and our people were surrounded."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky joins G7 world leaders on the final day of the G7 Summit on May 21, 2023 in Hiroshima, Japan. Source: Getty / Stefan Rousseau

Sitting next to US President Joe Biden, Mr Zelenskyy suggested it would be a pyrrhic victory for Moscow.

"You have to understand there is nothing" there in Bakhmut, he said on the sidelines of the summit in Japan.

Satellite imagery comparing the before/after destruction of University buildings and a radio tower in Bakhmut, Ukraine. Source: Getty / Maxar/DigitalGlobe

Zelenskyy compared the "absolute total destruction" in Bakhmut to the devastation in Hiroshima when the US dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city in 1945.

"There is absolutely nothing alive (there)."