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The separatist forces, supported by Russia, present in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region on Monday said that a village has been seized by Russian forces near the important city of Bakhmut.
The village of Bakhmutske in “the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic was liberated by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,” said a statement released on Telegram by the separatist authorities on Monday.
Responding to the report, the mercenary group Wagner, which is associated with Kremlin, issued a statement on social media saying that Bakhmutske was already “liberated” by its forces last month.
Founder of Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin separately clarified on social media that the group’s units were “exclusively” storming Soledar.
In his evening address delivered on Sunday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the area between Soledar and Bakhmut is “one of the bloodiest places on the front”.
Supply of arms by West will prolong Ukraine’s suffering, claims Kremlin
On Monday, the Kremlin claimed that the supply of arms and weapons from Western countries, which include light tanks, will only increase the suffering of Ukrainians.
WATCH| Russia-Ukraine War: US warns of acute threats from Russia
“Fundamentally, these deliveries cannot and will not change anything… (they) can only prolong the suffering of the Ukrainian people,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, while responding to the decision of France to supply armoured vehicles to Ukraine.
The Kremlin said that Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin remain in contact. Peskov said the world leaders have been in contact which has been “very useful, despite deep differences.”
(With inputs from agencies)
