Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said forces of his Wagner group had captured the village of Yahidne, just north of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine on Saturday.
But Ukrainian military reports issued a day after the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, suggested that villages near the key town remained under Kyiv's control.
Reuters could not independently confirm Prigozhin's claim, in a short audio message, or the report by the Ukrainian military's general staff.
