The Latest Breaking News from Yevgeny Prigozhin

Russian troops tried on Thursday to sever important supply routes into the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut and thereby put more pressure on defending forces, Ukrainian officers said.

Russian forces pounded the city of Bakhmut, the months-old focal point of their attempts to capture the eastern Ukrainian industrial region of Donbas, and the head of Russia's Wagner mercenary force said Ukrainian troops were pouring in ahead of an "inevitable" counter-offensive.

This is The Loop, your quick catch-up for this morning's stories as they happened.

They’ve drawn most attention in eastern Ukraine, but it seems wherever war breaks out – from Syria to Sudan – this group of mercenaries can be found profiting from bloodshed, writes World Affairs Editor Kim Sengupta

Nationwide pause to violence started at midnight, and US is supporting attempts to create a committee to oversee ending hostilities

Nikolai Peskov, 33, says he sought father’s help to serve anonymously in mercenary group for six months

Nikolai Peskov is also known as Nikolai Choles and speaks fluent English after spending time as a youth in London

Apparent move in occupied areas comes as Ukrainian military sets up positions on eastern side of Dnipro River

The son of Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said in an interview published on Saturday that he had served in Ukraine under an assumed name as an artilleryman in the Wagner mercenary force, the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper reported.