Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Tuesday, Aug 26, 2025

Bakhmut city ‘not occupied’ by Russia, says defiant Zelensky

Bakhmut city ‘not occupied’ by Russia, says defiant Zelensky

A defiant Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted Bakhmut “is not occupied” by Russia after a Moscow-backed mercenary group had claimed control.
Ukraine’s president was speaking during a scene-stealing visit to Hiroshima, Japan, for the G7 summit.

He compared Bakhmut to Hiroshima, which was hit by an atomic bomb in World War Two, promising a similar “reconstruction” of his country.

Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin had earlier claimed victory in Bakhmut.

At a press conference on the final day of the Summit, Zelensky refused to provide precise details, but said the city was “not occupied” by Russia “as of today”.

“There are no two or three interpretations of those words,” he said, after earlier confusion about his remarks on the status of the city.

Having arrived in Japan to great fanfare on Saturday, the next day Zelensky visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida — whose relatives died when the United States launched an atomic bomb on the city in 1945.

After a meeting with Kishida, he strode into an auditorium at the peace park to speak to reporters.

As he entered, one journalist shouted from the back of the room: “Slava Ukraini” (glory to Ukraine). Zelensky nodded to acknowledge her.

He drew several parallels between Hiroshima and Ukraine, saying that pictures of the Japanese city in ruins after the atomic bomb attack reminded him of present-day Bakhmut. He vowed there would be a similar “reconstruction and recovery” of Ukraine.

“Now Hiroshima has rebuilt their city, and we dream of rebuilding our cities,” he said.

There had earlier been some confusion about the status of Bakhmut, after Zelensky said “today Bakhmut is only in our hearts”.

His office later clarified that he had not said that the city had fallen.

A top Ukrainian general later said Kyiv’s forces were making advances on the outskirts of Bakhmut and were getting closer to a “tactical encirclement” of the city.

Analysts say that Bakhmut is of little strategic value to Moscow, but its capture would be a symbolic victory for Russia after the longest battle of the war in Ukraine so far.

The two sides have fought over the city since August.

Western officials estimate between 20,000 and 30,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded in Bakhmut, while Ukraine’s military has also paid a heavy price.

In a video released on Saturday, Wagner’s Prigozhin said his forces had control of the entire city, although Ukraine quickly denied it.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said that all troops who had excelled would get state awards.

Wagner forces have led the attack on Bakhmut, and Prigozhin has frequently criticized the Russian Defense Ministry for not providing his fighters with adequate supplies.

He has claimed before that his forces had taken Bakhmut, or most of it, only for the battle to continue.

The war in Ukraine has dominated the three-day summit of G7 leaders in Japan, with Zelensky meeting with several world leaders to lobby for more support.

His persistence paid off. At the summit, the US announced it would allow its Western allies to supply Ukraine with advanced fighter jets, including American-made F-16s.

However, as yet no country has committed to supplying the jets to Ukraine.

Asked by the BBC how confident he was about getting F-16s from his allies, Zelensky said: “We will be working on that, I’m sure... I cannot tell you how many - this is not a secret, we really don’t know.”

The BBC also asked him when his delayed spring counter-offensive would begin.

“Russia will feel when we have a counter-offensive,” he replied.

Other issues have also been discussed at the summit, including concerns about China’s rising influence.

On Friday, UK prime minister Rishi Sunak said Beijing posed “the greatest challenge of our age” in regards to global security and prosperity, and that it was “increasingly authoritarian at home and abroad”.

Both China and Russia have responded angrily to the summit and its outcomes, with Beijing accusing the G7 of “smearing and attacking” China.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry described the summit as a “propaganda show” that was “whipping up anti-Russian and anti-Chinese hysteria”.
Comments

Oh ya 2 year ago
Well if that the way the little jewish Nazi feels he should fly over there and walk around the city to show us. Russia helped the west defeat the NAZIS in WWII and they are helping again. Why is the west siding with the enemy now. My grandfather fought NAZIS what side did your grandfather fight for.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
×