Bakhmut Falls to Wagner Group After 9-Month Battle

Prigozhin announced that Wagner Group forces had taken full control of Bakhmut, while Ukraine disputed complete Russian control of the city. The Battle of Bakhmut was the longest and bloodiest battle of the war, lasting from August 2022 to May 2023. Wagner is estimated to have lost 20,000–30,000 fighters, including tens of thousands of recruited convicts. Ukrainian losses were also severe. Russia gained a city largely reduced to rubble.