THE head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group has claimed the complete control of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
Yevgeny Prigozhin alleged in a video today that "Bakhmut was taken in its entirety", while Kyiv strongly denied his claims but admitted the situation is "critical".
The brutal warlord made the outlandish claim today in a video posted to Telegram with his mercenary fighters behind him holding the Russian flag surrounded by ruins of the Bakhmut.
"Today, at 12 noon, Bakhmut was completely taken," Prigozhin said. "We completely took the whole city, from house to house."
Prigozhin's statement was echoed by the Kremlin's Defense Ministry, who claimed the region had been "liberated".
Vladimir Putin also praised his troops for allegedly capturing the city.
Putin said those who had fought in Bakhmut had distinguished themselves and would be given awards, Russian state media reported.
Ukraine's military, however, denied that the Wagner militia had taken full control the city and said its troops were continuing to fight there.
"This is not true. Our units are fighting in Bakhmut," military spokesperson Serhiy Cherevatyi said.
Ganna Malyar, Ukraine's deputy defence minister, posted on Telegram: "Heavy fighting in Bakhmut. The situation is critical."
She insisted that Ukrainian troops were "holding the defence".
"As of now, our defenders control certain industrial and infrastructure facilities in the area," Malyar added.
The battered and besieged city is the scene of the longest and bloodiest battle in Moscow's almost 15-month invasion of Ukraine.
Prigozhin added that his forces would withdraw from Bakhmut from May 25 for rest and retraining, handing over control to the regular Russian army.
Distant explosions could be heard in the background as Prigozhin spoke during the video.
In the video, the Wagner chief taunted Zelensky and Biden, who were together taking part in a G7 summit in Japan where the Ukraine war was front of mind for world leaders.
Addressing Zelensky, Prigozhin said: "Today when you see Biden, kiss him on the top of his head, say hi to him from me."
For nine months, Ukraine has held on to the city for dear life and managed so far to .
Putin has been using his mercenary army, including convict recruits, to desperately attempt to break the stale-mate in a with up to 100,000 Russian casualties.
But earlier this month, his lackey Prigozhin had threatened to pull his troops out after a furious tirade against the despot, branding him an “a***hole” over his failure to deliver adequate ammunitions.
The Wagner leader's video today comes as Ukraine recently described fleeing Russian soldiers as “rats climbing into a mousetrap” in Bakhmut after Ukrainian forces launched a counterattack last week.
Kyiv's commander of land forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said in a video posted to social media: "Wagner troops climbed into Bakhmut like rats into a mousetrap."
He told Ukrainian troops: “The enemy has more resources, but we are destroying his plans."
Kyiv says its tactic in the “meatgrinder” battle is to draw Putin’s troops in and weaken their front line defences elsewhere.
Prigozhin has himself acknowledged in the past that the small city had no strategic significance, but it took on huge symbolic importance for both sides because of the sheer intensity of the fighting and the scale of losses.
Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Kyiv has made advances of about a kilometre in the northern and southern suburbs of the city.
The Sun's Jerome Starkey has been reporting from a secret underground bunker this week on the battlefield.
He called it a "World War One-style hellscape of craters, barbed wire and battlefield trenches".
He described how Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade used tanks and infantry to advance 1,000 yards across farmland south of the city in the last few days as panic spread through Russian lines.
General Syrskyi, said the attack “stalled the entire Russian army”.
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