On Wednesday, The Moscow Times reported that Denis Pushilin, who serves as Russia’s leader in the Donetsk People’s Republic, was cited by Moscow news agencies saying, “Fairly tough fighting continues in Artemovsk.”
“But units, in particular Wagner, are advancing in Artemovsk itself,” Pushilin reportedly said. Artemovsk is the Russian name for Bakhmut, The Moscow Times reported.
The report comes amid ongoing fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces in numerous regions, including Bakhmut, which is located in the Donetsk region. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously announced an illegal annexation of several Ukrainian regions, including Donetsk, as well as the regions of Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
Earlier this month, Russian military officials claimed that they had taken control of Soledar, another region where intense fighting has raged.
“The liberation of the town of Soledar was completed in the evening of Jan. 12,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said, according to the Associated Press.
Konashenkov further said that capturing the city would hurt Ukrainian military forces located in Bakhmut as Russian forces would “block and encircle the Ukrainian units there.”
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky disputed these claims and said, “The tough battle for Donetsk continues. The battle for Bakhmut and Soledar, for Kreminna, for other towns and villages in the east of our state continues.”
As the war between Russia and Ukraine has continued for nearly a year, the Wagner mercenary group, which is owned and financed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, has continued to gain notoriety.
Last week, the White House announced that it was designating the Wagner Group as a “transnational criminal organization.” The designation sparked a critical response from Prigozhin towards the U.S., which has continued to supply Ukraine with military, economic and humanitarian aid throughout the ongoing war.
Prigozhin posted a letter on his Telegram that he sent to the White House following the designation asking, “Could you please clarify what crime was committed by PMC Wagner?”
While speaking to the Russian state-run news agency RT, Prigozhin further mentioned the criminal organization designation and said, “So if we consider the Wagner PMC [Private Military Company] a criminal organization, then the U.S. is a powerful crime syndicate, which lives on the money of the whole world.”
“Accordingly, compared to this crime syndicate, the Wagner PMC is more like the vice police,” Prigozhin added.
Newsweek reached out to the ministry of foreign affairs in Russia and Ukraine for comment.
