The head of the Russian private army Wagner has said his fighters have completed the capture of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, but Kyiv immediately rejected the claim and said fighting was still going on. Ukraine rejects claim.

Ukrainian troops, on the defensive for months, will soon counterattack as Russia's offensive looks to be faltering, a commander said, but President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that without a faster supply of arms the war could last years.

"Ukrainians keep on supplying endless reserves" Prigozhin said.

The Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces says the situation around Bakhmut is “extremely tense”.