Putin's Wagner thugs claim they have taken eastern Ukraine village after intense fighting
Russian mercenary fighters claimed they captured a small village in eastern Ukraine, reports from Telegram channels associated with the group have said, as fighting in the Donbas territory intensified. The Wagner Group said that its units had taken control of Blahodatne, a small village on the highway between the front-line cities of Bakhmut and Siversk, with photos posted of members of the outfit standing in front of an entrance sign to the area. Ukraine's General Staff, however, said its forces repelled an attack in the area of Blahodatne on Sunday.
The village of Blahodatne is located just across the Bakhmutka River from the salt-mining town of Soledar, which Russia successfully captured in mid-January after a brutal assault.
In a message on the morning of January 29, the press service of Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin said that Wagner troops had reached the southern edge of the village.
Another channel associated with the group said: "Units of Wagner PMC have taken Blahodatne. Blahodatne is under our control."
They have also claimed to have taken the village of Klishchiivka, to the south, over the past week as they continue to try to encircle the city of Bakhmut.
While the claims remain unconfirmed, if true, their positions will put increasing pressure on Ukrainian communication and supply lines into Bakhmut itself.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Sunday that the situation around Bakhmut has become "very tough".
He said: "The situation is very tough. Bakhmut, Vuhledar, and other sectors in Donetsk region - there are constant Russian attacks."
But Ukrainian forces denied that the village of Blahodatne had been captured by the Wagner Group, while the Russian Ministry of Defence declined to comment.
The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said in its daily morning report: "Units of Ukraine's Defence Forces repelled the attacks of the occupiers in the areas of ... Blahodatne ... in the Donetsk region."
Ukraine's General Staff added that its forces repelled Russian attacks in the areas of 13 other settlements in the Donetsk region.
The Wagner Group has made premature claims about capturing cities and towns, such as Soledar, in previous weeks.
Their announcement came as friends and volunteers gathered at Kyiv's St Sophia's Cathedral to say goodbye to Andrew Bagshaw, a New Zealand scientist who was killed in Soledar, six miles northeast of Bakhmut, earlier this month, alongside Brit Christopher Parry.
The pair were trying to evacuate an elderly woman from the frontline salt mining town when they were hit by a shell in their car, Mr Bagshaw's family reported in a statement last week.
Volunteers spoke of their memories of Mr Bagshaw and read tributes from his family. Nikolletta Stoyanova, a friend in Ukraine, shared memories of his bravery.
Ms Stoyanova said, speaking in English: "Even if no one wanted to go to Soledar, they can do that. Because if he understood that someone needs help, they need to do this help for these people."
Mr Bagshaw's father, Phil, told reporters in New Zealand that his son wanted to do something to help.
He said: "He was a very intelligent man, and a very independent thinker.
"And he thought a long time about the situation in Ukraine, and he believed it to be immoral. He felt the only thing he could do of a constructive nature was to go there and help people."
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