Ukrainian President Volodymyr confirmed on Sunday that Russia had taken control of the city of Bakhmut after a bloody eight-month battle, The Associated Press reports.

“For today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts,” Zelenskyy said, speaking alongside US President Joe Biden at the G7 summit in Japan’s Hiroshima. “There is nothing in this place.”

“They destroyed everything,” he added.

Earlier, the head of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, announced that the city of Artemovsk (Bakhmut) in Donetsk was under Russia's complete control.

After Prigozhin's statement, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine declared that the fighting for Bakhmut continued.