MOSCOW, April 14. /TASS/. The long battle for Artyomovsk (Ukrainian name - Bakhmut) gives an advantage to Russian forces, the founder of the PMC Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said in an article his press service uploaded to its Telegram channel on Friday.
"The prolonged battle for Bakhmut is extremely advantageous for the Russian troops. Bakhmut gives the Russian army a chance to accumulate forces, take advantageous defense lines, sort out internal problems, train the mobilized and counter any number of counter-attacking Ukrainian troops," Prigozhin said. "Bakhmut is extremely advantageous for us and a grinder destroying the Ukrainian army. Also, we restrict the enemy’s maneuvers."
At the same time, according to Prigozhin, Artyomovsk is of little interest to Kiev. It is rather a destabilizing factor.
"Every soldier taken prisoner, every hundred killed hits [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky and the Ukrainian military very hard and outweighs the gains they may be getting by retaining what is still left of this city," Prigozhin said.
Artyomovsk, located in the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk People's Republic, is an important transport hub for bringing supplies to the Ukrainian group of troops in Donbass. Fierce fighting for the city is in progress. Earlier, Prigozhin said that more than 80% of Artyomovsk, including all administrative centers, is under the control of Russian forces.