Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has clarified his previous comments regarding the city of Bakhmut, saying that it is “not occupied” by Russia “as of today”.

Earlier, he told reporters that there is “nothing left” of the eastern city and that the Russians had “destroyed everything“.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated his troops and the mercenary Wagner Group for taking over Bakhmut, with the Kremlin saying the operation to “liberate” the city is over.

Zelenskyy is attending the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, seeking global support for Kyiv’s plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine; he tells G7 leaders it was “an obvious expression of rationality”.

A top Ukrainian general said Kyiv’s forces controlled an “insignificant” part of the eastern city of Bakhmut, but that the foothold would be enough to enter the devastated city when the situation changed.

In a Telegram post, General Oleksandr Syrskyi said Kyiv’s forces were advancing on Russian forces in the suburbs of Bakhmut and that they were getting closer to a “tactical encirclement” of the city.