 Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigazin said on May 20 his Wagner group fighters had completed the capture of Bakhmat, but Ukraine rejected the claim and said fighting was still going on. Prigazin made the claim in a video in which he appeared in combat fatigues in front of a line of fighters holding Russian flags and Wagner banners. Later, Prigazin's company, Concord, which has been releasing all his statements and videos, posted footage of Wagner fighters posing with Russian and Wagner flags in various locations said to be in Bakhmat. Ukrainian military spokesperson Sergei Cherovatiyei told Reuters, This is not true, our units are fighting in Bakhmat. Bakhmat 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. Prigazin's victory claim followed fierce fighting around the city in the past week, in which Ukraine said it pushed back some Russian forces.