The key Donbass city of Artyomovsk, known as Bakhmut in Ukraine, has been fully liberated by the Russian forces, Evgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner private military company has announced.
“Today at noon, Bakhmut was fully captured,” Prigozhin said in a video address published on Saturday.
The last part of an area of high-rise buildings where the Ukrainians were holed up is now under the control of Russian forces, he stated.
The Wagner Group will remain in Artyomovsk until Thursday, Prigozhin said, adding that during this period, fortifications will be created across the city.
Control will then be passed on to the Russian Defense Ministry, and Wagner Group servicemen will go on leave to rest and regroup following months of intense fighting.