Evgenii Prigozhin, founder of Russia’s Wagner paramilitary group, said on Feb. 12 that its mercenaries seized a small town of Krasna Hora, two kilometers north of the outskirts of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk Oblast.
Photos and video posted on social media on Feb. 12 showed Wagner mercenaries in front of a sign reading Krasna Hora.
In its morning briefing on Feb. 12, the Ukrainian General Staff said it recorded Russian shelling in the Krasna Hora area, implying some Ukrainian presence in the settlement.
A photo purporting to show Wagner Group mercenaries on the outskirts of Krasna Hora in Donetsk Oblast, posted to social media on Feb. 12, 2022.
Prigozhin also claimed on Telegram that the Wagner Group is the only Russian force stationed within 50 kilometers near Bakhmut.
The Russian conventional army doesn’t support the Wagner Group in the area, Prigozhin said, continuing an ongoing effort to claim Russian success as exclusively achieved by Wagner.
With relentless attacks by small, squad-level assault teams, Wagner has undeniably played a leading role in the months-long fierce battle for Bakhmut and surrounding areas in Donetsk Oblast, where Russia has made its first significant gains since summer 2022.
Capturing Bakhmut would allow Russia to disrupt Ukraine’s supply lines in the area and open up the main road leading to the two key Ukrainian cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
