MOSCOW, March 6. /TASS/. There are currently some 10,000 Ukrainian servicemen in Artyomovsk, known as Bakhmut in Ukraine, Yan Gagin, who is an advisor to acting leader of Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Denis Pushilin, said on Monday.

"Quite a large garrison of [Ukrainian troops] is still deployed in Artyomovsk - some 10,000 people or, perhaps, somewhat more. Parts of it have already left the city, and some parts have been attempting to leave it, while our artillery has been trying to hit them," the expert told Rossya-1 television.

Earlier on Monday, Gagin also said that the cauldron in Artymovosk was similar to the one Ukrainian troops got encircled into in 2015.

On March 1, founder of the Wagner private military company Yevgeny Prigozhin said that tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops were fiercely resisting Russian forces in Artyomovsk.