Monitoring Desk
MOSCOW: The Russian forces on Tuesday claimed to have captured the village of Blagodatne north of the eastern Ukrainian town of Bakhmut, which has been the epicenter of heavy fighting.
The defence ministry said in a statement that “as a result of successful offensives,” its troops “liberated the settlement of Blagodatne of the Donetsk People’s Republic,” using Russia’s term for the eastern Donetsk region.
Blagodatne lies near Soledar, a salt-mining town that Russian troops have recently captured, and on a highway leading toward Bakhmut.
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin sent forces to Ukraine in February last year, Russia has sought to seize Bakhmut for months in some of the heaviest fighting.
Kyiv denies Russian claim
Over the weekend, Russia’s private military group Wagner claimed its units were in control of Blagodatne; however, Ukraine denied the claim at the time, saying it repelled Russian attacks on the settlement.
