Europe 1 with AFP 11:41 a.m., February 12, 2023
On the 353rd day of the Russian invasion, the leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner claimed that his troops had taken the Ukrainian locality of Krasna Hora, a few kilometers north of Bakhmout, a key city that Moscow has been seeking to conquer for several months.
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The leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner said on Sunday that his troops had taken the Ukrainian town of Krasna Hora, a few kilometers north of Bakhmout, a key city that Moscow has been seeking to conquer for several months.
"Today, Wagner's assault units took the town of Krasna Hora," said Yevgeny Prigojine, quoted by his press service.
AFP was unable to verify these independent source statements.
Information to remember:
The paramilitary group Wagner claims that its troops have taken the Ukrainian town of Krasna Hora, located a few kilometers from Bakhmout
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For more than six months, the Wagner group and the Russian army have been trying to capture Bakhmout, in eastern Ukraine, a city of limited strategic importance but which has gained great symbolic importance due to the duration of the fights.
Russian forces have been trying in recent weeks to encircle Bakhmout and have succeeded in cutting several roads to the city, vital for the supply of Ukrainian troops.
The Wagner Group announced on January 11 that it had taken Soledar, a larger town not far from Krasna Hora.
But the Russian Ministry of Defense had taken two days to announce the conquest of Soledar, revealing dissension between Wagner and the Russian regular army.
"After Soledar was taken, there was a fuss that other (soldiers) apart from Wagner's fighters were in Soledar. Obviously the guys weren't happy," Prigojine said on Sunday.
"Within a radius of 50 kilometers, more or less, there are only Wagner fighters and they will take Bakhmout," he said.