ISTANBUL

Moscow on Sunday claimed that fighters of the Russian Wagner private military company took control of two urban quarters in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

A statement by the Russian Defense Ministry said that the captured urban quarters are located in the northwestern and southeastern parts of Bakhmut city, further claiming that units of the Russian airborne forces “constrained the enemy’s actions on the flanks of the assault detachments.”

Ukraine has not yet responded to the claims.

Russian forces have been trying for months to capture Bakhmut, a transport and logistics hub in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, which is part of the largely Russian-speaking industrialized Donbas region.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner, claimed in late March that the battle for the city “almost destroyed the Ukrainian army” and “battered” his group.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s General Staff said attacks by Russian forces in the direction of Bakhmut continued with “partial success.”