Donetsk

Mercenary group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said his troops have started to withdraw from positions around the Donetsk city.

Ukraine has insisted that fighting is continuing in the Donetsk city that Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin claims has been taken.

Igor Girkin wrote on Telegram that Russia "washed themselves in blood" after Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed victory in the Donetsk city.

The Wagner founder made the claim in a post on his Telegram channel. A video shows him holding the Russian flag next to his troops.

"No video shot in Bakhmut will fully convey what is really happening in the city," wrote the Ukrainian armed forces next to the clip.

The British Ministry of Defense said that Moscow was showing a "notable commitment" to taking the Donetsk city.

Military spokesperson Serhiy Cherevaty has been quoted as saying Ukrainian troops had advanced up to 500 meters in the direction of Bakhmut in a day.

Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar praised the "steadfastness and courage" of Ukrainian soldiers who were preventing Russian forces from surrounding Bakhmut.

"It's not huge, but it's enough for our soldiers to feel like they did something great," Oleksandr Korniyenko told Newsweek.

Russian units are "fleeing" Bakhmut, not regrouping, Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin said, challenging the Russian Defense Ministry's version of events.

On Friday, Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said Ukraine's armed forces had advanced over a mile.

The think tank said Kyiv's troops have made small gains west and southwest of the Donetsk town.

"Looks like something out of a video game," wrote one Twitter user about the footage shared by Ukraine's military.

Russia has reportedly expended massive amounts of resources in Bakhmut, allegedly deploying Wagner troops with little direction or training.

Ukraine has said that Russia is looking to forcibly deport children from the city of Horlivka.

Russian troops in eastern and southern Ukraine are still on the offensive while Kyiv prepares its own spring counter.

Google Earth images show the destruction of the Ukrainian port city that was besieged by Russian forces.

The reported strike comes as Russian media boasted about the arrival of the long-awaited T-14 Armata tanks.

Moscow's forces are involved in five offensive and two defensive operations, the Institute for the Study of War said.

Ukrainian politician Lyudmila Denisova said weeks into the war that Ukrainian citizens were having their passports seized and replaced with Russian ones.

The clip purportedly shows the Da Vinci Wolves fighting for the so-called Road of Life in Bakhmut.

Russia's defense ministry said Ukrainian units were destroying the city's infrastructure and buildings in a bid to slow down the advance of Russian troops.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has said that Moscow's armed forces will be able to advance deep inside Ukraine if Bakhmut falls.

As Russia braces for Ukraine to launch its counteroffensive, the bloody battle for the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine continues to rage.

Almost 4,500 Russian fighters were killed or wounded in the Bakhmut area in the past fortnight, Ukraine's General Staff of the Armed Forces said on Thursday.

Russia has reportedly invested heavily and exhausted numerous resources in its effort to control Bakhmut and other key cities in the Donetsk region of Ukraine.

Russia is "destroying buildings and positions with air strikes and artillery fire" in Bakhmut, the head of Ukraine's ground forces said.

The intense conflict over Marinka, Ukraine, has left what once was a city of 10,000 empty of people and largely destroyed.

Russia's advance in and around the city "had largely stalled" at the end of March, the British defense ministry said on Friday.

The specialized units will be deployed among Russia's key frontline formations in areas where Russian offensives have been widely unsuccessful.