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Military operation in Ukraine

Russian forces grinding down Ukrainian army in battle for Artyomovsk, says Wagner founder

"The battle for Bakhmut has practically destroyed the Ukrainian army today," the Wagner press office quoted Yevgeny Prigozhin as saying

Wagner PMC founder Yevgeny Prigozhin Konkord Company Press Service/TASS

Wagner PMC founder Yevgeny Prigozhin

© Konkord Company Press Service/TASS

MOSCOW, March 29. /TASS/. Russian forces are persistently grinding down the Ukrainian army with foreign mercenaries in the battle for Artyomovsk (called Bakhmut in Ukraine), Wagner private military company founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Wednesday.

After the seizure of Popasnaya, the battle for Artyomovsk was imminent back last summer, he pointed out.

"And we are persistently moving along this pathway. The battle for Bakhmut has practically destroyed the Ukrainian army today," the Wagner press office quoted Prigozhin as saying on its Telegram channel.

Foreign units are also incorporated into the Ukrainian army, Prigozhin added.

All the Russian units positioned in the flanks, the south and the north must "move forward," the Wagner founder said.

Artyomovsk is located on the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk People’s Republic and is a major transportation hub for the Ukrainian army’s supplies in Donbass. Fierce fighting for the city is underway.

Yan Gagin, military-political expert and adviser to the acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), said on March 22 that the city had been practically sealed off by Russian forces and all approaches to Artyomovsk were under Russian artillery control. He earlier said that Russian forces controlled about 70% of the city.

Acting DPR Head Denis Pushilin has repeatedly said that there is no evidence of the Ukrainian army’s plans to leave Artyomovsk. Meanwhile, Kiev claims that the city’s defense will be bolstered. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky earlier said that Ukrainian troops would not surrender Artyomovsk and would fight for it as long as they could.

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Military operation in Ukraine

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