Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin claims control of Bakhmut | Ukraine war 458,729 views May 20, 2023

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The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group on Saturday announced his troops had captured the whole Bakhmut, a claim that Ukrainian officials immediately denied. Yevgeny Prigozhin also said that his forces would begin withdrawing from the destroyed city in Donbas region, eastern Ukraine, from Thursday. Mr Prigozhin has previously claimed victory in Bakhmut by raising the Russian flag above important buildings, but Ukraine has insisted it is holding on and the fighting has continued. “The operation to capture Bakhmut, ‘The Bakhmut meat grinder’, lasted 224 days,” he said in a speech posted on his Telegram channel. “For 224 days the guys stormed the city. There were only Wagner mercenaries there." Within minutes Ukrainian officials, who have said for the past 10 days that they have been taking ground from Russian forces in Bakhmut, denied Mr Prigozhin’s claim. “It’s not true. Our units continue to fight in Bakhmut,” said Sergei Cherevaty, a spokesman for Ukraine’s eastern military group.