Russia's Wagner Group boss says Ukrainian troops are 'fighting to the last'

Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Russia's Wagner Group of mercenaries, said Sunday that Ukrainian troops were "fighting to the last" while denying online accounts that Ukrainian troops were withdrawing from Bakhmut.

"The Armed Forces of Ukraine is not retreating anywhere. The Armed Forces of Ukraine fight to the last," Prigozhin said in a message shared on Telegram.

Prigozhin, referring to Bakhmut by its former name Artemovsk, said that there are "fierce battles for every street, every house, every stairwell."

"Of course, it's nice that the media want the Armed Forces to retreat, but this does not happen either in the northern quarters, or in the south, or in the east," Prigozhin said.

Bakhmut, located in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, is seen as critical for the aims of both Ukraine and Russia. Ukrainians have been fighting to prevent Russian forces from taking total control of the city with staggering losses on both sides.

The British Defense Ministry, which has provided intelligence updates throughout the war, said Sunday that Russia has continued to make "small advances" to encircle Bakhmut.

"The M03 and the H32 -- the two main roads into the city for Ukrainian defenders -- are likely now both threatened by direct fire, following the Russian advances," the British Defense Ministry said.

"Earlier in the week, Wagner paramilitary forces highly likely seized a subordinate route that links Bakhmut to the town of Siversk. While multiple alternative cross-country supply routes remain available to Ukrainian forces, Bakhmut is increasingly isolated."

The Institute for the Study of War, a think tank based in Washington, said in an analysis Saturday that Russian forces are "intensifying attacks on Bakhmut while neglecting frontlines" around the city of Donetsk.