Russians proclaim seizure of Bakhmut town hall, Kiev denies fall of city

Uncertainty surrounded the fate of the Ukrainian city of Bajmut in the Donetsk region on Monday, where the Wagner mercenary group said it had occupied the central district and administration, while the Ukrainians said the Russians were far from taking the town.

"April 2, 23 o'clock. Behind me is the (Bakhmut) city hall building and this is the Russian flag," Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, said in a video, adding that "in the legal sense" this meant the seizure of the disputed city.

According to Prigozhin, Wagner commanders were preparing to hoist both the Russian flag and the Wagner banner, the Kremlin's main assault force in Bakhmut, which the Russians call Artyomovsk, on the administrative building.

He acknowledged, however, that the enemy has not left the city and is concentrated in the western part of Bakhmut.

Military analyst Boris Rozhin showed pictures of the Bajmut town hall building reduced to ruins.

"It was blown up by the (Ukrainian) armed forces during their retreat so that Wagner could not hang the flags," he said.

At the end of March, the Wagner commander claimed that his fighters had seized 70% of the territory of Atyromovsk.

The seizure of the town, where fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops began last July, would be Moscow's first major victory in Ukraine in almost nine months.

For Wagner's militia, this would be its second military success so far this year, after the conquest of the Ukrainian stronghold of Soledar in January.

Meanwhile, Kiev categorically denied the fall of Bajmut.

"Bajmut is Ukraine. React calmly to the fakes (fake news) of those who invent a victory that in reality does not exist," the head of the Ukrainian President's Office, Andriy Yermak, wrote on Telegram.

Serhiy Cherevatyi, the spokesman for the eastern command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said in a statement reported by The Guardian that Bakhmut is Ukrainian and "far from being taken".

Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ukrainian Land Forces, said that "the enemy is weakening" in Bakhmut and is trying to "cover up its failures" with lies.

Ukrainian military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko pointed out that the placement of the Russian flag on a building "does not mean anything".

"It doesn't mean that in an hour's time you won't lose that building," he told the UNIAN news agency.

Russian-imposed officials in the Donbas also claimed that the enemy has not received an order to withdraw and is not leaving Bajmut.

"The enemy has not received a corresponding order (to withdraw), there is no flight or planned withdrawal of Ukrainian regime troops from Atyomovsk," the Russian-imposed interim leader in Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, told Russian television.

According to Pushilin, "several thousand" civilians remain in the city.

Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenski meanwhile travelled to Yahidne in the northern region of Chernobyl to mark the anniversary of the village's liberation from Russian occupation.

The Ukrainian leader assured that all the country's territories would be liberated and that Russian troops would be destroyed if they did not withdraw.

"But we will do it, and they must know it. They still have time to get out of there, otherwise we will destroy them," he said.

However, the Ukrainian leader did not say when exactly the Ukrainian army would be ready for the counteroffensive.

"As for our progress on the front, I can't say when we will be ready for very concrete things. But we are preparing to be strong in battle and to vacate our land," he said.

At the same time as Zelenski's remarks on the preparation of the counteroffensive, Poland announced on Monday that it has delivered several MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine and will continue those deliveries.

Amid the uncertainty over the fate of Bajmut, fighting is also continuing on other fronts in the Donbas.

The acting pro-Russian leader of Donetsk reported on Monday the advance of Russian units on the Avdivivka front, where fighting has intensified in recent weeks.

"The situation for the enemy is difficult, if not critical," he said.

According to Pushilin, it is premature to talk about encircling the town, but Russian forces have begun blocking the roads leading to Avdivivka, as they did with Bakhmut.

Ukrainian media reported that this front has become a priority for Moscow after the failure of its offensive in Vuhledar, another Ukrainian stronghold in the Donetsk region.

Finland will become the 31st formal member of NATO on Tuesday after completing its accession process at NATO headquarters, where a flag-raising ceremony will be followed by a meeting of allied foreign ministers at which the Nordic country will participate as a full member.

"Tomorrow we will welcome Finland as the 31st member of NATO, making Finland and our Alliance stronger," announced NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a press conference on Monday.

The Norwegian politician explained that, in a ceremony at 3.30pm (13.30 GMT), Finland's flag will be raised "for the first time" at NATO headquarters.

"This is a truly historic day, a great day for the Alliance," said Stoltenberg, who noted that the ceremony will coincide with the 74th anniversary of NATO's birth on 4 April 1949.

Beforehand, Stoltenberg will meet with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, and after the ceremony, the meeting of NATO foreign ministers will begin.

Turkey was the last of the 30 current Allies to ratify Finland's NATO accession protocol and must deposit the "instrument of accession" with the US State Department for the process to be completed.

However, the Turkish foreign minister is expected to hand over the documents to the head of the US State Department, Antony Blinken, when the two meet in Brussels on Tuesday.

The Norwegian politician also pointed out that, with the integration of Finland, the land border between the Alliance and Russia will be "more than double" what it is today, so if Russian President Vladimir Putin "went to war against Ukraine with the clear objective of having less NATO", he is getting "the opposite".
 

"Finland will bring to the Alliance substantial military forces, well-trained, well-equipped, also with a large army of reservists," said Stoltenberg, who stressed that Helsinki is "among the few countries that did not reduce defence investment at the end of the Second World War".

While Finland will complete its path to the Alliance on Tuesday, Sweden, which applied for membership at the same time, is still waiting to receive the go-ahead from Hungary and Turkey.

Ankara remains doubtful about Sweden's commitments to tackle Kurdish terrorism.

Stoltenberg today expressed confidence that Sweden will become a member of the Alliance, which he called "a priority for NATO" and "for me", adding that he expects this to happen in the "near future".

"It is the fastest accession process in history," he added, in any case, on the progress of both countries, which were formally invited to join the Alliance last summer.

As usual, the ministers will meet on Tuesday with their Ukrainian counterpart, Dmitro Kuleba, with whom they will discuss the war situation on the ground and the allies' continued military support for Kiev, although no new agreements are expected in the margins of the meeting to deliver more weapons to Ukraine, according to diplomatic sources.

The ministers' meeting will take place this time in the more formal setting of a NATO-Ukraine Commission, the highest platform for dialogue between the two sides.

Stoltenberg argued for the need to have "a longer-term perspective, where we don't just look at how we can help Ukraine immediately (...), but how it can move closer to NATO".

He therefore expects allied foreign ministers to express the need to begin a multi-year reform programme with Ukraine to "modernise" its security and defence institutions, including the fight against corruption, and to facilitate the transition from Soviet-era military equipment to NATO standards.

At the same time, they will address the rapprochement between Beijing and Moscow in the midst of the invasion of Ukraine, and in this regard, Soltenberg said that "any provision of lethal aid from China to Russia would be a big mistake".

"At a time when Russia and China are challenging the international order and democratic values, it is all the more important that we stand together as NATO allies and with our partners," he added.

The Alliance will hold a meeting on Wednesday with Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

"The consequences of Russia's war against Ukraine are global. And what is happening today in Europe could happen tomorrow in East Asia," Stoltenberg said.