• Russian ministry says its troops have taken control of Klishchiivka.
• A tiny settlement in eastern Ukraine close to Bakhmut.
• Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed victory over the settlement on Thursday.

Russian defense ministry said that, its troops have taken control of Klishchiivka, a tiny settlement in eastern Ukraine close to Bakhmut.

“In the Donetsk direction, the volunteers of the assault detachments, with fire support from operational-tactical and army aviation, missile troops and artillery of the Southern Military District, liberated the settlement of Klishchiivka of the Donetsk People’s Republic,” it said in a statement Friday.

On Thursday, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the mercenary organization Wagner, claimed victory over Klishchiivka.

In a statement released by his holding company, Prigozhin claimed that the Wagner Group’s units held sole ownership of the settlement.

A few miles to the south-west of Bakhmut, where the two sides have been engaged in a protracted fight, is Klishchiivka. Klishchiivka was “one of the essential suburbs” to conquer close to Bakhmut, according to Prigozhin.

As Russian forces concentrated their attention on the nearby town of Soledar, fighting surrounding Bakhmut has somewhat subsided.

It is commonly believed that the Russians will intensify their attempt to capture Bakhmut if the combat there is nearing its conclusion.

[embedpost slug=”bakhmut-is-holding-courageously-says-hanna-maliar/”]