“Artillery Ceases for American Journalists’ Arrival in Bakhmut, Ukraine amid Fierce Battle for the City”

Artillery shelling in Bakhmut (Russian name – Artyomovsk) will be stopped for the time of arrival in the city of American journalists who are invited there by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This was stated by PMC founder Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose statement was published on Thursday in the Telegram channel of his press service, reports TASS.

“We are sitting at the headquarters, doing combat work. Information has arrived that Cerberus, the commander of the 57th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, is taking American journalists to Bakhmut. It was decided to suspend the artillery fire so that the American journalists could safely photographing around Bakhmut and leaving. The press is something sacred. They are also a kind of war correspondents,” said Prigozhin.

At the same time, he warned the armed forces of Ukraine against attempts to bring reserves into Bakhmut under the guise of American journalists. “Greetings from the boys for Cerberus, but don’t pull the reserves,” said Prigogine, promising to stop such attempts, if any.

However, he later stated, that he was jokingwhen he said his men would stop artillery fire in Bakhmut to allow Ukrainian forces on the other side of the front line to show the town to visiting American journalists.

However, in an audio message to Prigogine, he stated: “Boys, this is military humor. Humor and nothing more… It was a joke.”

Bakhmut is located in the Ukrainian-controlled part of Donetsk Oblast and is an important transport hub for the supply of the Ukrainian troop group in Donbass. Fierce battles are fought for the city. As the adviser to the acting head of the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic” (DPR) Jan Gagin told TASS on April 18, Russian forces now control almost 90% of its territory. Denis Pushilin, acting head of the DPR appointed by Russia, said today that Russian forces had taken control of the last section of the Ukrainian group’s supply route in Bhamut.

Since the city had already been under attack for more than 11 months, the Ukrainian defense of Bakhmut is now integrated as one element of a much deeper defense zone that includes the town of Chasov Yar to the west.

British Intelligence: There is heavy fighting in the western parts of Bakhmut

The battles for the city have been going on for 11 months now