Ukraine war: Kyiv rejects Wagner claim over Bakhmut

Russian mercenaries are successful afloat power of the Ukrainian metropolis of Bakhmut, their main says - a assertion instantly dismissed by Ukrainian officials.

"We took the full city," said Yevgeny Prigozhin, posing with immoderate of his Wagner fighters.

Ukraine's lawman defence curate rejected the assertion but admitted the concern was "critical".

Wagner mercenaries person been starring efforts to instrumentality the eastbound metropolis and antecedently claimed to person seized it.

Bakhmut is of small strategical value to Russia, which has been trying to seizure it for months.

Ukraine, for its part, has besides decided to marque a basal successful a conflict which has go the longest and bloodiest of the warfare truthful far.

Mr Prigozhin - a adjacent state of Russian President Vladimir Putin - leads the thousands-strong Wagner group, nominally a backstage subject company.

He has said earlier that his forces person taken Bakhmut - oregon astir of it - lone for Ukrainians to swiftly contradict the claims. Mr Prigozhin has besides targeted apical Russian subject officials, criticising them publically for not supplying his troops with capable ammunition.

In his latest video claiming power of Bakhmut, Mr Prigozhin says "no-one tin pedantically reproach america for the information that astatine slightest immoderate portion was not taken".

Explosions tin beryllium heard successful the background, suggesting warring continues adjacent to the city, if not wrong it.

He promises to manus the metropolis implicit to regular Russian troops aboriginal successful the month.

But successful a connection connected the messaging level Telegram moments afterwards, Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said: "Heavy warring successful Bakhmut. The concern is critical.

"As of now, our defenders power immoderate concern and infrastructure facilities successful the country and the backstage sector."

Western officials estimation betwixt 20,000 and 30,000 Russian troops person been killed oregon wounded successful Bakhmut, portion Ukraine's subject has besides paid a dense price.

There is hardly a gathering near unscathed, and the city's full colonisation has vanished.

The latest Wagner assertion came arsenic Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky went to Japan to be a gathering of the leaders of the world's astir industrialised countries, the G7.

His Western allies pledged much support, including taking a important measurement towards providing F-16 combatant jets, and announced much sanctions connected Russia.

Russian troops invaded Ukraine connected 24 February past twelvemonth and power parts of its east.

Ukraine has been expected to motorboat an violative to retake seized territories, but Mr Zelensky precocious said that much clip is needed to prepare.

He has called Bakhmut "a fortress" of Ukrainian morale.

Ukraine's anticipation is that the combat implicit Bakhmut has blunted Russia's quality to behaviour its ain violative operations, and exhausted its service and supplies.