Petrova pointed to the artillery damage to her house, explaining why she was not afraid of the approaching war.
“We have already been shelled. Half of the kitchen ceiling was destroyed. Our neighbor’s roof was destroyed. We are used to it,” she said.
Her street, lined with cherry blossom trees and abandoned one-story homes, has only two dozen residents remaining—a fraction of those who once called it home.
The Kremlin is looking to present a win at home as the offensive moves forward for a second year.
Adding to the confusion over the situation on the ground, Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian paramilitary organization Wagner, also expressed skepticism of Moscow’s claims, saying it was “too early” to talk about Russian forces encircling Bakhmut.
“The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to deploy and transfer reserves,” Prigozhin’s press office said on social media.
“The hardest, bloodiest fighting is going on, so it’s too early to talk about the complete encirclement of Bakhmut.”
The European Union on Thursday added Wagner to its sanctions list for “actively participating in the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine”.
Wagner was placed on a separate EU sanctions list in February for violating human rights in Africa and “destabilizing” the country.
