Wagner chief says Ukraine's Bakhmut 'practically surrounded'

MOSCOW, March 3: The chief of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner said on Friday that his fighters had "practically encircled" Bakhmut, an eastern Ukrainian city that Russia has been trying to seize for months.

"Wagner paramilitary group units have practically surrounded Bakhmut, only one road remains" under Ukrainian control, Yevgeny Prigozhin said, calling on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to abandon the city.

Bakhmut, once known for its salt mines and sparkling wine, has seen the longest and bloodiest battle of the offensive.

The Wagner group, a once-shadowy force founded by Kremlin-linked businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, has taken center stage in the fight.

"If earlier we were fighting against the professional army, we now increasingly see old people and children," Prigozhin said in the video filmed from a building's rooftop.

"They are fighting, but their life expectancy in Bakhmut is now very short, one day or two... give them a chance to leave the city," he said.

The video then showed an old man and two younger men who asked Zelensky to let them leave.

Ukraine has vowed to defend "fortress Bakhmut" but it has faced Russian troops determined to seize the city, whose symbolic importance now outstrips its military significance.

Ukrainian officials said the fighting is becoming increasingly difficult after Russia claimed several villages near Bakhmut in recent weeks.

Only around 4,500 people remain in the destroyed city, which had a population of about 70,000 before the conflict, Ukrainian officials said.

(RSS/AFP)