DONETSK, April 12. /TASS/. Kiev continues its attempts to relocate reserve forces to Artyomovsk (Bakhmut), but most of them get eliminated before they even reach the city, says Yan Gagin, Advisor to Acting DPR Head Denis Pushilin.

"Our forces in Artyomovsk have increased pressure on the only artery that connects Artyomovsk to Chasov Yar, through which any kind of deliveries are already difficult. Meanwhile, Kiev is still trying to relocate reserves to one of the most dangerous areas. Vehicles and personnel are eliminated on their approach to [the city]," he said.

Gagin underscored that Wagner PMC fighters continue to fight fiercely on the Western outskirts of the city, where Kiev has concentrated a group of several thousand servicemen.

Artyomovsk is located in the Kiev-controlled part of the DPR; it used to be an important logistics node for supplying the Ukrainian battlegroup in Donbass. Fierce fighting is underway for the city. On Tuesday, Wagner PMC founder Yevgeny Prigozhin announced that over 80% of the city, including all administrative centers, is under Russian forces’ control.