(Portal) Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said troops from his Wagner group captured the village of Yahidne north of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine on Saturday.
But Ukrainian military reports, released a day after the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, suggest villages near the key city remain under Kiev’s control.
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Portal could not independently confirm Prigozhin’s claim in a short audio message or the report of the General Staff of Ukraine.
“On February 25 at 19:00, assault units of private military company Wagner secured complete control over the village of Yagodnoye (Yahidne) north of Bakhmut,” Prigozhin said in the audio.
A day earlier, he said, Wagner took control of Berkhivka, a neighboring village on the outskirts of Bakhmut.
The monthlong struggle for Bakhmut, where only around 5,000 of the 70,000 residents live, was the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting of the Russian invasion.
Wagner’s units suffered heavy casualties, prompting Prigozhin to complain bitterly that the Russian defense system did not adequately recognize his contribution.
This week he even accused the army’s top officers of treason for not providing his men with enough ammunition, although he later said the situation had been rectified.
(Reporting by Mark Trevelyan and Ron Popeski; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Ron Popeski)