Mr. Prigozhin declared complete control of the city of Bakhmut.
PHOTO FROM FTK CLIP
Reuters on May 20 quoted the founder of the Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin as declaring complete control of the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, although Ukraine denied it and said fighting was still ongoing.
Mr Prigozhin made the announcement in the footage, looking battle-weary, in front of a row of soldiers holding Russian flags and Wagner banners.
"Today, at 12 noon, Bakhmut is completely under control. We have complete control of the entire city, from house to house," he said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian military spokesman Serhiy Cherevatyi asserted that "this is not true, our units are fighting in Bakhmut".
Bakhmut has become the focal point of the longest and bloodiest battle of Russia's campaign in Ukraine, now nearly 15 months old.
Mr. Prigozhin and the Bakhmut mercenaries
Distant explosions were heard as Mr Prigozhin spoke in the footage. He said his forces would withdraw from Bakhmut from May 25 for rest and retraining, handing over control to the Russian military.
He also repeated complaints about his forces suffering excessive losses due to lack of ammunition support from the Russian army.
British military intelligence said on May 20 that Russia likely deployed several squads to Bakhmut, after Ukraine gained a tactical advantage on the city's flank.
“The Russian leadership is likely to continue to view the capture of Bakhmut as a key immediate objective, one that would allow them to claim some success in the conflict,” according to the British intelligence report.
Spokesman for the Eastern Military District Command of Ukraine Serhii Cherevatyi said that in addition to Wagner forces, Russia is sending additional paratroopers and motorized rifle units to Bakhmut, according to the Kyiv Independent news site on May 20.
The spokesman said that controlling Bakhmut remained the top priority for the Russian military. In the previous 24 hours, Russian and Ukrainian forces clashed 17 times near Bakhmut. Mr. Cherevatyi added that the Russian side had shelled Ukrainian defenses 414 times.
Ukraine counterattacks around Bakhmut, Wagner attacks last neighborhoods
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