MOSCOW, March 8. /TASS/. Russian forces have taken full control over the eastern part of Artyomovsk (known as Bakhmut in Ukraine), founder of the Wagner PMC Evgeny Prigozhin said on Wednesday.

"Wagner PMC units have occupied the entire eastern part of Bakhmut. Everything east of the Bakhmutka River is completely under the control of the Wagner PMC," Prigozhin was quoted as saying by his press service on his Telegram channel.

Artyomovsk is located in the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk People's Republic and serves as a major transportation hub for the Ukrainian group of troops in Donbass. Intense fighting is underway for the city. Denis Pushilin, acting head of the Donetsk People's Republic, announced on February 16 that Russian forces had captured all major heights in the Artyomovsk region.