Russia's Wagner group of mercenaries has taken full control of the Ukrainian village of Berkhivka, a village on the outskirts of Bakhmut, Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Friday.
"Berkhivka is fully under our control. Units of Wagner Private Military Company are in full control of Berkhivka," he said in a post on social media.
Berkhivka is about 3 km (1.9 miles) north-west from the suburbs of Bakhmut, a frontline city that has seen intense fighting.
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)