Russia's Wagner group claims it has taken full control of the Ukrainian village of Berkhivka on the outskirts of Bakhmut, Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Friday.
"Berkhivka is fully under our control. Units of Wagner Private Military Company are in full control of Berkhivka," he said in a post on social media.
Bakhmut is a frontline city that has seen intense fighting. Berkhivka is about 3 km (1.9 miles) north-west from Bakhmut. Russia, for months has been fighting to take Bakhmut for months, with the battle exposing tensions between the paramilitary group and Russia's army, though the Kremlin denies any rift, AFP reports.
Â
The Wagner group on February 12 had claimed that its fighters have taken over the Krasna Hora settlement north of Bakhmut. Capture of Bakhmut, would mainly be symbolic for Russia. Bakhmut has faced the longest-running battle in Russia's year-long offensive.
Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelenskyy in the meantime, pledged to push for victory in 2023 as he and other Ukrainians on Friday marked the sombre first anniversary of the Russian invasion that he called "the longest day of our lives."
"We survived the first day of the full-scale war. We didn't know what tomorrow would bring, but we clearly understood that for each tomorrow, you need to fight. And we fought," in a defiant video address, Zelenskyy said.
-- With PTI inputs
