In an attempt to block Ukrainian forces, Russia started shelling routes leading west out of Bakhmut. A video shared by Russia’s Wagner private army chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said that only one road out of Bakhmut remains under Ukrainian control and called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to abandon the city.
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin said, “Units of the private military company Wagner have practically surrounded the area.” “Only one route [out] is left,” he added. “The pincers are closing.”
Bakhmut is located in Donetsk province—one of four provinces illegally annexed by Russia last fall. Kremlin controls half of the Donetsk province.
Russian forces have been attacking Bakhmut in Donetsk province for months, sometimes in waves and the site has become one of the bloodiest battles of the war.
