Zelenskyy denies Ukrainian city of Bakhmut occupied by Russian forces

By ZEKE MILLER, ELISE MORTON and SUSIE BLANN
Associated Press

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian forces are not occupying Bakhmut. Zelenskyy’s comments on Sunday at the Group of Seven summit in Japan cast doubt on Moscow’s insistence that the eastern Ukrainian city had fallen. Zelenskyy said that “Bakhmut is not occupied by the Russian Federation as of today.” The fog of war made it impossible to confirm the situation on the ground in the invasion’s longest battle. And a series of comments from Ukrainian and Russian officials added confusion to the matter. Zelenskyy’s response in English to a question earlier at the summit about the status of Bakhmut suggested that he believed the city had fallen to Russian forces and he offered solemn words about its fate.