Evgeny Prigozhin confirms ISW report on Wagner Group’s likely capture of eastern Bakhmut

Following the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) March 7 report on the probable capture of eastern Bakhmut by the Russian forces, Evgeny Prigozhin issued a statement confirming ISW’s conjecture.

The original analysis by ISW said: “Russian forces have likely captured the eastern part of Bakhmut east of the Bakhmutka River following a controlled Ukrainian withdrawal from eastern Bakhmut as of March 7.”

On March 8, Evgeny Prigozhin’s press service published a voice message, in which Prigozhin himself said that “everything east of the Bakhmutka River is under Wagner Group’s control.”

The Ukrainian authorities have not yet replied to Prigozhin’s claims or to ISW’s assessment of the situation in Bakhmut.

On Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky had acknowledged that the Russian capture of Bakhmut would make key Donbas cities of Kramatorsk and Slovyansk also vulnerable to the Russian offensive.