Russia Is ‘Basically Commanding Rubble’ in Bakhmut: Ret. General

The Russian military’s claimed conquest of the war-torn Ukrainian city of Bakhmut means that Moscow is effectively “commanding rubble,” according to retired U.S. Army General Mark Hertling.

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russia had won the battle to “liberate” Bakhmut on Saturday after Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Russian mercenary organization the Wagner Group, said that Russia-aligned forces had “fully taken” the city.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky disputed the claim on Sunday, while a Ukrainian armed forces spokesperson said on Monday that a number of buildings in Bakhmut had been retaken. Newsweek has not independently verified Ukraine or Russia’s claims about the city.

Hertling, former commanding general of the U.S. Army Europe and the Seventh Army, said during a CNN interview on Monday that Ukrainian forces had pulled out of Bakhmut but were now in a “much greater” position to drive Russia out from “the high ground” of surrounding settlements.

Hertling argued that the areas Russia was controlling were of “no tactical value,” pointing out that Bakhmut had been largely decimated following months of brutal fighting. He also predicted that the Ukrainian army would soon be surrounding Russian-aligned forces.

“Russia is basically commanding rubble right now,” Hertling told CNN’s Erin Burnett. “A town that they have destroyed, they are now in the middle of it, there is no tactical value for that right now.”

“Ukrainian forces who have pulled back can now have a much greater capability of conducting operations against that city than they did before,” he added. “Soon we may see Ukrainian forces surround the Wagner forces, or whatever’s left, in the city of Bakhmut.”

Newsweek has reached out via email to the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment.

In a tweet on Sunday, Hertling predicted that Wagner forces would experience a “disaster” within days of declaring victory over Bakhmut, while pointing out that the mercenary group had taken heavy losses while attempting to take the city this year.

“As many of us had said multiple times, Prigozhin is not a professional soldier and neither are his troops,” he tweeted. “‘Congratulations, Yevgeny, you’ve put the Wagner flag in the center of the city. And … you’re surrounded.’ Disaster for Wagner over the last 5 months … and next week.”

On Monday, Prigozhin claimed that Wagner forces would begin to pull out of Bakhmut on Thursday and complete a withdrawal by June 1, according to Reuters.

Zelensky adviser Alexander Rodnyansky, appearing on the same CNN broadcast as Hertling on Monday, dismissed Prigozhin’s claim of an impending withdrawal.

“We obviously can’t believe any word that they’re saying,” Rodnyansky said. “This is a side that’s been lying consistently throughout, before the invasion, during the invasion. So, we take it with a grain of salt, at best.”

The Institute for the Study of War, a U.S.-based think tank, said in a report published on Sunday that it was “unlikely” the Wagner Group would continue fighting beyond Bakhmut, due to “its current depleted state.”