MOSCOW, April 17. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu did not discuss the situation around Artyomovsk, including the possibility of gaining full control over it, at their meeting on Monday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"No, they [Putin and Shoigu] did not talk about it," he said, answering corresponding questions.

According to published footage, the open part of the meeting was about a surprise inspection of the Pacific Fleet forces.

Artyomovsk (the Ukrainian name of the city is Bakhmut) is located in the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk People's Republic and was an important transport hub for supplying Ukrainian units in Donbass. There is fierce fighting for the city. Earlier, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner private military company, reported that more than 80% of Artyomovsk, including all administrative centers, were under the control of Russian forces.