MOSCOW, March 7. /TASS/. There are between 12,000 and 20,000 Ukrainian servicemen currently in Artyomovsk (Bakhmut), Wagner PMC founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said Tuesday, adding that extremely difficult fight for the city is currently underway.

"According to various assessments, there are between 12,000 and 20,000 Ukrainian servicemen currently in Bakhmut," Prigozhin said. "Extremely difficult fight goes on day and night, but the Ukrainians are nor running. [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky is not about to run out of people - more and more thousands are being thrown into the ‘meat grinder’."

According to Prigozhin, Russian forces in Artyomovsk "feel Zelensky’s fury in full," and Ukrainian forces are not about to run out of weapons and ammunition.

Artyomovsk is located in the Kiev-controlled part of DPR and acts as a major logistics node for supplies to Ukrainian forces in Donbass. On February 16, Acting DPR Head Denis Pushilin announced that Russian forces have taken control over all main heights around Artyomovsk.