Head of a Russian mercenary organization WagnerYevgeny Prigozhin said today that the fighting for control of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut “virtually destroyed” the Ukrainian army, but also caused “great damage” to its forces.

“Today’s battle for Bakhmut has already practically destroyed the Ukrainian army, but, unfortunately, caused great damage to Wagner,” Prigozhin said in an audio message.

Reports of downed Russian bomber

Ukrainian air defense forces reportedly shot down a Russian Su-24M bomber near the eastern town of Bakhmut, the country’s defense ministry said on Wednesday.

The plane was shot down, according to the Ukrainian side, around 13:30 local time on Tuesday. CNN, which reported the story, stated that it could not independently verify the claim.

The city of Bakhmut, which had a population of 70,000 before the Russian invasion that began in February 2022, is now completely destroyed and almost completely devoid of civilians.

^{According to APE – MEB, Reuters, CNN}