On Saturday, the Russian Defence Ministry said Wagner mercenaries had taken two additional districts of Bakhmut, Ukraine.
“On the Donetsk direction, the fiercest fighting has been continuing in the city of Artyomovsk,” the ministry said in a daily statement, referring to the settlement by its Soviet-era moniker.
“Wagner assault units successfully advanced, capturing two areas on the northern and southern outskirts of the city,” it stated.
The statement said Russian army paratroop soldiers prevented Ukrainian forces from flanking the alleged advance.
The information was unconfirmed by Reuters.
Since last summer, Wagner has led Russia’s Bakhmut campaign, the war’s longest and bloodiest. Yevgeny Prigozhin, its leader, often complains about weak military backing.
On Friday, Britain reported that Russian artillery fire had caused Ukrainian soldiers to abandon some terrain near Bakhmut.
Russia’s winter onslaught has failed to capture Bakhmut, which had a pre-war population of roughly 70,000.
