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Wagner chief posts video of fighters claiming Bakhmut

STORY: Reuters was able to verify the locations in the video, posted by Prigozhin's company Concord, but could not independently verify the date it was filmed.

While Kyiv had initially rejected Moscow's claim of victory over the city, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday (May 21) appeared to confirm the loss when asked if it remained in Kyiv's control.

"I think no," he said ahead of a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in Japan. "For today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts."

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.