The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group said his forces controlled more than 80% of the devastated eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut after some of the war's heaviest and bloodiest fighting
Senior Ukrainian military officials did not address the claims directly, but said their forces were holding firm against fierce attacks in what once was a city of 70,000 and keeping Russian forces in check.
"In Bakhmut, the larger part, more than 80% is now under our control, including the whole administrative centre, factories, warehouses, the administration of the city," he said in a video posted by a Russian military blogger. Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesman for Ukraine's Eastern Military Command, said the situation in Bakhmut was under control, adding Kyiv would not allow its troops to be encircled.
And Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, hosting his Ukrainian opposite number on Tuesday, pledged fresh supplies of assault rifles, machine guns and ammunition.
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