A defiant Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted Bakhmut “is not occupied” by Russia after a Moscow-backed mercenary group had claimed control.
Ukraine’s president was speaking during a scene-stealing visit to Hiroshima, Japan, for the G7 summit.
Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin had earlier claimed victory in Bakhmut.
But Ukrainian military sources told the BBC they still had control of a handful of buildings on the outskirts of the city.
At a press conference on the final day of the summit, Mr Zelensky refused to provide precise details. But he said the city, where the war’s longest and bloodiest battle has raged since August, was “not occupied” by Russia “as of today”.
“There are no two or three interpretations of those words,” he added, after earlier confusion about his remarks on the status of the city.
On Saturday, Wagner’s Mr Prigozhin claimed his fighters, who have led the Russian assault on Bakhmut, were in full control of the city. Ukraine quickly denied it.
Mr Zelensky compared Bakhmut to Hiroshima, which was hit by an atomic bomb in World War Two, promising a similar “reconstruction” of his country.
Earlier on Sunday, Mr Zelensky visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida – whose relatives died when the United States dropped the bomb on the city in 1945.
Mr Zelensky laid a wreath for those who were killed in the attack.
After a meeting with Mr Kishida, he strode into an auditorium at the peace park to speak to reporters.
As he entered, one journalist shouted from the back of the room: “Slava Ukraini” (glory to Ukraine). Mr Zelensky nodded to acknowledge her.
He drew several parallels between Hiroshima and Ukraine, saying that pictures of the Japanese city in ruins after bombing reminded him of present-day Bakhmut. He vowed there would be a similar “reconstruction and recovery” of Ukraine.
“Now Hiroshima has rebuilt their city, and we dream of rebuilding our cities,” he said. (BBC)