(Moscow) The boss of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigojine, claimed responsibility on Saturday for the capture by his men of the village of Yaguidné, located on the northern outskirts of Bakhmout, a town that Moscow troops have been trying to take since the summer.
The capture of Yagidné further encloses the Russian stranglehold around Bakhmout, the village being located less than two kilometers from the center of this fortress city, of disputed strategic importance, but which has become a symbol of the struggle for control of the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine.
“At 7 p.m. on February 25, Wagner’s assault units took full control of the village of Yagidné, north of Bakhmout,” said Prigojine, quoted by his press service on Telegram.
A photograph on the Telegram account shows armed and masked men with a Wagner flag in front of the entrance sign to the village of Iaguidné.
According to Wagner’s press service, quoted by the TASS agency, Ukrainian troops blew up a dam near Bakhmout to slow the advance of Russian forces.
“Indeed, the Ukrainian armed forces blew up the dam,” the press service said, adding that it was a dam on Lake Pivnivchny, located just west of Bakhmout.
These assertions were immediately unverifiable from an independent source.
Russian forces have been trying for several weeks to encircle Bakhmout and have succeeded in cutting off several important supply routes for Ukrainian troops.
On Friday, the Wagner group, in the front line in this battle, had claimed the capture of Berkhivka north of Bakhmout and last week, that of Paraskoviïvka.
Sharp tensions have arisen in recent weeks between the paramilitary group and the Russian army, with Mr Prigozhin accusing the latter of not providing him with the ammunition he needs.