As Prigozhin published on Wednesday on his Telegram channel, the entire territory east of the Bakhmutka River is under full control of Wagner, and showed photos and videos of the Russian military in the area.

Artyomovsk, which is known to the Ukrainians as Bakhmut, is located in the sector of the Donetsk People’s Republic under control by Ukraine and is an important logistical hub for the supply of Ukrainian troops in the Donbass region.

The troops of both sides are fighting fiercely for the city. On February 16th, Donetsk’s acting chief Denis Pushilin asserted that Russian forces controlled all the main heights near Artyomovsk, as well as the surrounding villages.

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