The head of the Russian paramilitary Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, announced today, Friday, that his forces have taken control of the Ukrainian town of Berkhovka, northwest of Bakhmut, the strategic city that Moscow has been seeking to occupy for a few months.
Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a statement published by his media that the village of Berkhovka “is completely under our control. Wagner units control all parts of Berkhovka,” according to AFP.
Last week, Russian forces announced the control of the town of Paraskovivka at the northern entrance to Bakhmut.
Berkhovka is located to the southwest of Paraskovivka, in the north of Donetsk Province.
Activists reported that Prigozhin had visited the eastern suburbs of Bakhmut, which are the areas under the control of his forces.
Other reports said that Wagner’s forces were close to capturing another village to the southeast of Berkhovka, Yagodna, near the northern entrance to Bakhmut.