The chief of Russia's Wagner private military group Yevgeny Prigozhin said Monday in an open letter to the Russian defense minister that Wagner forces control around 70% of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
A months-long battle continues in the city and earlier this month, Prigozhin acknowledged that the situation in Bakhmut was “difficult, very difficult, with the enemy fighting each other for each meter.”
"At the moment, Wagner units control around 70 percent of the city of Bakhmut and are continuing operations to complete the liberation of the city," Prigozin wrote Monday in the letter published on Telegram.
Prigozhin asked Shoigu to take measures to prevent a potential upcoming offensive by Ukrainian troops in late March or early April, which Prigozhin said will cut off Wagner forces from Russian troops in eastern Ukraine.
What Ukraine is saying: Prigozhin's comments come after Ukraine's military on Saturday claimed Wagner mercenaries have suffered “colossal losses” in the battle for Bahkmut and have had to seek reinforcements from Russian paratroopers.
“According to what we see Bakhmut will be the last battlefield for the infamous military actions of PMC Wagner because of this extensive offensive, where they ‘throw in’ all of their mercenaries and then the ex-prisoners,” Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the Eastern Grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said while speaking on national television. “Now we see that they are reinforced by units of the regular army. First of all, the airborne troops.”
CNN is unable to independently verify Prigozhin's claims or Ukrainian claims of Russian casualties.
Meanwhile, Prigozhin announced on Saturday that he plans to recruit about 30,000 new fighters by mid-May, according to a voice message published on Telegram.