Sergey Nikiforov, spokesman for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said in an open meeting with White House chief Joe Biden that the Ukrainian leader did not recognize the loss of Artemivsk (Ukrainian name Bakhmut). Nikiforov wrote about this on his social networks.
On the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima, during Zelensky’s meeting with Biden, journalists shouted a question to the President of Ukraine: “Is Bakhmut still under Ukraine’s control?” Another statement followed: “Russia says they took Bakhmut.”
The President of Ukraine replied: “I don’t think so.” Then he added: “But you must understand that there is nothing left. Today Bakhmut is only in our hearts. There is nothing in this place.”
Nikiforov notes that Zelensky answered an additional question, and the words “I don’t think so” refer to the phrase: “Russia says they took Bakhmut.”
“Thus, the president denied that Bakhmut had been captured,” Nikiforov wrote.
Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Defense of the city of Artemovsk found completely under the control of Russian forces.