The founder of Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said it is premature to discuss the creation of a Ukrainian encirclement in Artemovsk, known in Ukraine as Bakhmut, noting that the conflict continues. Earlier, representatives linked to the Donetsk People’s Republic reported an incident.
“It is too early for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to discuss a pocket around Artemovsk, especially after the area was briefly under what was described as an operational siege when certain roads were opened,” stated Prigozhin’s press service on Telegram.
“But there is no completed cauldron. That is why heavy fighting persists,” he added.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, assault units have been active in the western sector of the city over the last day.
“Airborne troops are preventing the enemy from breaking the flanks and are supporting assault detachments in their efforts to seize the city,” explained Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, the ministry’s official spokesman.
Operational-tactical and army aviation, along with artillery from the Russian South group, targeted Ukrainian forces near Krasnoe, Chasov Yar and Predtechino, with eight sorties recorded.
War correspondent Alexander Kots of kp.ru reported that PMC assault units pierced another psychological defense line of the Ukrainian forces as they moved through Artemovsk and gained control of the railway station and nearby high-rise blocks.
“There is another logistics route through the Krasnoye area used by the enemy. Field roads allow passage only for tracked vehicles. The DPR weather turned wet again, trapping wheeled vehicles in mud,” he noted.
“Claiming”
In the morning of April 21, adviser Yan Gagin stated that Wagner PMC fighters had moved along the Artemovsk-Chasov Yar2 corridor, the route previously used to supply the Ukrainian group. He argued that the lid of the encirclement had effectively closed.
That afternoon, however, Pushilin conceded that it was still too early to speak about a pocket forming in Artemovsk, describing the battlefield as heavy and tense.
“The forces are advancing and the fighters are pushing ahead, but it’s premature to declare a pocket as a done deal,” he said in a video message on social media. Pushilin also pledged to complete the mission with his advisers after what he called hurried statements.
“It is not acceptable to exaggerate or issue claims that could endanger those at the front,” commented the region’s deputy head.
“This is not the first time I have observed how information can flare up with unverified statements from advisers who are not directly responsible for these areas.”
What is said in Kyiv?
Anna Malyar, Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine, acknowledged that Russian forces were making progress on the ground.
“Bakhmut remains the hottest sector. Violent clashes continue there. The adversary is pressing forward in certain areas,” she wrote on her Telegram channel.
She described the situation in Artemovsk as tense but under Ukrainian control, noting that Ukrainian forces are conducting both defensive and offensive operations.
Artemovsk, home to roughly 71,000 residents before the latest clashes, ranks as the eighth-largest city in the Donetsk People’s Republic. The battle for the city has raged since last year, with Wagner fighters gaining control over nearby settlements since autumn. On April 3, the Russian flag was raised over the city hall building.