Russia's Wagner Group announced that it had made new progress in the city of Pakhmut, and Kiev provided different information about the conduct of battles in the city, while the Russian Defense Ministry said that the Ukrainian Air Force bombed a factory in Lugansk with British-made missiles.

Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said his forces had advanced in the city of Bakhamut 500 meters, "leaving only 1.5 square kilometers under the control of the Ukrainians."

Prigozhin said his forces had filled the vacuum left by the retreat of Russian troops in the northern flank of the city.

Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Anna Maliar confirmed that Ukrainian forces were gradually advancing in two directions on the outskirts of Bakhamut.

Maliar explained that the Ukrainian army continues to destroy Russian forces and has managed to capture many fighters, she said.

Russian forces are unable to control the city of Pakhmut, Malyar said, noting that it is difficult to calculate exactly the areas where Ukrainian forces have been able to make progress given the continuation of combat operations there.

Storm-Shadow missiles

On another front, the Russian Defense Ministry said the Ukrainian air force launched an attack with British Storm-Shadow missiles on a factory in Lugansk, wounding civilians, including 6 children.

It said the Russian air force shot down the plane that launched the attack, along with another one that was protecting it.

In a related context, Russian military sites reported that the Russian Air Force bombed an ammunition depot in the Khmelnytsky region (western Ukraine).

Those websites said the strike targeted Ukrainian air force ammunition in the city, and published photos of the warehouse explosion and another explosion in the city of Ternopol (central Ukraine).

Ukraine's military says it continues to destroy Russian troops in Bakhamut (Reuters)

Mobilizing support

Politically, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived on Sunday in the German capital, Berlin, as part of a European tour he began in Italy.

Earlier, Italian President Sergio Mattarella told his Ukrainian counterpart on Saturday that his country fully supports Kiev until a just peace is achieved.

Mattarella, who received Zelensky at Rome's Quirinal Palace, stressed Italy's full support for Ukraine in terms of military, financial, humanitarian and reconstruction aid, both in the short and long term, according to the Italian news agency ANSA.

Zelenskiy arrived at the Vatican on Saturday afternoon, where he was received by Pope Francesco. Pope Zelensky was previously received at the Vatican in February 2020.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell urged member states to speed up the delivery of military equipment to Ukraine and provide it with long-range weapons to counter Russian strikes.

Borrell said after a meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Stockholm: "Ukrainians need specific things; the Russians are targeting them from long distances, so they must have the ability to reach the same distance, the same range."