“Blagodatné has been liberated by a unit of volunteers,” the Russian defense ministry announced. The Russian military uses the term “volunteers” to refer to paramilitary groups, such as the Wagner group.
The same Wagner group, led by Putin confidant Yevgeny Prigozhin, had already announced on Saturday that it had taken the village, but Kiev in turn denied this. Since the summer, the Russian troops, together with Wagner, have been trying to take the city of Bachmut.
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