KYIV: Kyiv declared on Sunday that it was repelling assaults from Russian forces that were still trying to encircle Bakhmut, a now-destroyed city in eastern Ukraine that Moscow has been attempting to seize for months.
Pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk region posted a video purporting to show Wagner fighters in the suburbs north of Bakhmut, having taken control of the Stupki railway station.
Wagner, a private army headed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, has taken centre stage in the fight for the city, which has exposed rivalries with Russia’s conventional forces.
On Friday, Prigozhin said his fighters had “practically encircled” Bakhmut, and only one road remained under Ukrainian control.