Wagner claims control of Bakhmut, but Kiev says fighting continues. Here are some key moments in the battle for the city.
The battle for the town of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region is the longest and bloodiest of Ukraine’s full-scale invasion of Russia.
Here’s a timeline of the main events there:
May 8, 2022 – Ukraine confirms that its troops have withdrawn from Popasna, a town about 24 km east of Bakhmut, with a main road between the two settlements. Russian troops can now advance to Bakhmut and bombard it with artillery.
August 9, 2022 – British defense intelligence says the Bakhmut axis has been Russia’s most successful front in the past 30 days, with troops advancing about 10km into the region.
October 8, 2022 – The beginning of the attack on the city of Bakhmut by Wagner fighters, according to Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
October 15, 2022 – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the situation in Bakhmut is “the most difficult” of all the front lines. “We’re holding our positions,” he says.
December 20, 2022 – Zelenskyy pays a surprise visit to the city, where he greets his “superhuman” troops and urges them to fight on.
January 25, 2023 – The Ukrainian army says it has withdrawn from the town of Soledar, north of Bakhmut. Two weeks earlier, Prigozhin posted a photo of himself with some of his fighters in what he said was one of Soledar’s salt mines.
February 3, 2023 – Zelenskyy says Ukraine will fight “as long as we can” for Bakhmut. “No one will give Bakhmut away… We consider Bakhmut our fortress,” he says.
March 10, 2023 – After Ukraine appears to be planning a retreat in early March and Western allies question Bakhmut’s strategic importance, Ukraine decides to reinforce its beleaguered soldiers in Bakhmut, saying the battle is trapping Russia’s best military units.
March 22, 2023 – Zelenskyy pays a surprise visit to troops near Bakhmut to thank them for their bravery and to present awards.
April 2, 2023 – Prigozhin raises a Russian flag at what he says is Bakhmut’s town hall. He says taking the building means Bakhmut has been taken by Moscow “from a legal point of view”. Ukraine denies its claim, saying it is not clear where Prigozhin raised the flag.
April 11, 2023 – Prigozhin says Wagner controls more than 80 percent of Bakhmut. Ukraine denies this, saying it controls “significantly” more than 20 percent of the city.
April 26, 2023 – The British Ministry of Defense says fighting has reached Bakhmut’s western suburbs over the past week, particularly around the settlement of Khromove on the northwestern outskirts, as Ukraine tries to maintain control of the main access road.
May 1, 2023 – Ukraine claims to have pushed Russian troops out of some positions in Bakhmut during heavy fighting.
May 10, 2023 – The commander of the Ukrainian ground forces says Russian units have withdrawn up to two kilometers in some parts of Bakhmut.
May 19, 2023 – Ukraine says it has repelled attacks from Russian troops trying to recapture territory around Bakhmut. Prigozhin says “heavy, bloody battles” continue and his men take Bakhmut almost completely.
May 20, 2023 – Prigozhin says Wagner forces have completed the capture of Bakhmut. Ukraine says the situation there is critical, with its troops still defending the southwestern part of the city.