Ukrainians have not been driven out of the city, White House official John Kirby says, refuting the Wagner Group’s claims.
The battle for Bakhmut is not over and Ukraine is still fighting hard for the city, a White House official said.
John Kirby, a spokesman for the United States National Security Council, told reporters on Monday that the Ukrainians have not been driven from the city, adding that an additional aid package for Ukraine can be expected this week.
His comments came hours after Ukraine also said Russian forces were “very far” from capturing Bakhmut and that fighting was raging around the city council where the Wagner group of mercenaries claimed to have raised the Russian flag.
“Bakhmut is Ukrainian and they have not captured anything and are far from doing so, to say the least,” Serhiy Cherevatiy, spokesman for the eastern military command, told Reuters news agency by telephone.
Earlier on Monday, the Wagner Group, which led the attack on Bakhmut, claimed it had seized the city’s city hall. The Russian Defense Ministry has not confirmed that it has full control of the city.
The battle for the industrial city of Bakhmut has become the longest and bloodiest battle of Russia’s years-long assault on Ukraine. Most of Bakhmut’s pre-war population of about 70,000 people fled the city by 2022.
Ukrainian troops say it is difficult to say how many civilians are left in Bakhmut, with estimates ranging from 1,000 to 5,000.
Finland becomes a NATO member
Finland, meanwhile, will officially join NATO’s military alliance on Tuesday, Finland’s presidential office said.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also told reporters in Brussels on Monday that “tomorrow we will welcome Finland as the 31st member”.
In response to Finland’s entry into NATO, Russia is reported to be strengthening its military capabilities.
“We will strengthen our military potential in a westward and northwestern direction,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told RIA Novosti news agency.
“In the event that the forces and assets of other NATO members are deployed to Finland, we will take additional steps to reliably ensure the military security of Russia.”
Finland has a 1,300 km border with Russia, which will roughly double the military alliance’s border with Moscow.
Sanctions were called for
In Slovakia, the Czech and Slovak prime ministers urged the European Union to put “targeted pressure” on the Kremlin by upholding sanctions imposed on Russia after it invaded Ukraine last year.
The Czech and Slovak governments, led by Petr Fiala and Eduard Heger respectively, met in the western Slovak town of Trencin.
“It is important for the EU and its partners to maintain targeted pressure on the Russian Federation and thoroughly implement the sanctions,” the prime ministers said in a statement.
Allies must also “prevent sanctions being circumvented and create mechanisms to punish those responsible for crimes related to this aggression,” they added.