Wagner believes Russia holds the majority of Bakhmut, while Kyiv asserts its soldiers are steadfast.

 BAKHMUT,  (Reuters) After some of the bloodiest and hardest combat of the conflict, the leader of Russia's Wagner mercenary organization said on Tuesday that his troops held more than 80% of the destroyed city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.

Senior Ukrainian military authorities did not immediately respond to the allegations, but they did state that their troops were resisting severe attacks in a city that formerly had a population of 70,000 while keeping Russian forces in check.

Russia's months-long operations to seize Bakhmut have been led by Wagner fighters. The brutal trench fighting and ongoing artillery bombardments have evoked analogies to World War One due to the significant amount of deaths sustained by both sides.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the commander of Wagner, declared that his soldiers, who have been crucial to Russian advances in the east, were advancing with their encirclement of Bakhmut.

In a video uploaded by a Russian military bogger, he claimed that "in Bakhmut, the larger part, more than 80% is now under our control, including the whole administrative centre, factories, warehouses, and the administration of the city."

One of the four regions Moscow announced to have seized in September, the Donetsk region's newly installed Russian leader said that Russian forces had forced Ukrainian defenders into a corner.

Denis Pushilin was cited as saying on state television, "In the western territories where their troops are entrenched, they have no alternative except to come forward and give themselves up.

The situation in Bakhmut is under control, according to Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Eastern Military Command, who also said that Kyiv will not permit its forces to be encircled.

Hanna Malyar, the deputy minister of defense for Ukraine, confirmed that Bakhmut "took the main hit" during the battle. But she said that because Russian soldiers "typically lose to us in street battles, they just destroy all buildings and structures."

Senior Ukrainian officials continued their efforts to persuade partners to free up stockpiles because Kiev claims it needs more and better Western weaponry to defeat Russia.