May 20 (Reuters) - Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Saturday his Wagner fighters had completed the capture of Bakhmut, but Ukraine rejected the claim and said fighting was still going on.

Prigozhin made the claim in a video in which he appeared in combat fatigues in front of a line of fighters holding Russian flags and Wagner banners.

"Today, at 12 noon, Bakhmut was completely taken," Prigozhin said. "We completely took the whole city, from house to house."

Ukrainian military spokesperson Serhiy Cherevatyi told Reuters: "This is not true. Our units are fighting in Bakhmut."

Bakhmut has been the focus of the longest and bloodiest battle of Russia's war in Ukraine, which is nearly at the end of its 15th month.

Distant explosions could be heard in the background as Prigozhin spoke during the video, in which he said his forces would withdraw from Bakhmut from May 25 for rest and retraining, handing over control to the regular Russian army.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-prigozhin-claims-full-control-bakhmut-2023-05-20/