The Ukrainian army announced on Sunday that it had repelled an attack near the village of Blagodatne, located in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, while Russia’s private paramilitary group Wagner said it had taken control of the town, AFP and Agerpres reported.

Kyiv troops “repelled attacks near (…) Blagodatny” and 13 other settlements in the Donetsk region, assured in the daily statement of the General Staff of Ukraine.

However, Wagner’s group had previously said that its units had taken control of the village.

“The divisions of the “Wagner” PMK were successfully captured. Blagodatne is under our control,” said Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the paramilitary formation, as quoted by his press service.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has not yet confirmed the information.

Battles in Donetsk

The main goal of the conflict in Ukraine was Moscow’s total seizure of the separatist Donetsk region, the annexation of which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the end of September.

Recently, Kyiv reported that Russian troops have intensified their attacks in the east of the country, especially against the settlements of Vugledar and Bakhmut.

Russia captured the town of Soledar this month after intense fighting, marking its first victory after months of battlefield defeats.

Blagodatne is located north of Bakhmut, a town that Moscow has coveted for months and has seen some of the fiercest fighting since the Russian invasion began on February 24, 2022.

In addition, on Sunday, local governor Pavlo Kyrylenko reported that five civilians, including one person in Bakhmut, were killed during the shelling that took place in the Donetsk region over the past day.

___

• Follow the latest events of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HotNews.ro