 Ukraine's 57th Motorized Brigade fired artillery shells near Bakhmut on July 5, using Soviet Maid and Ukrainian Maid, NATO standard Howitzers alike. Russia said on Wednesday its forces had struck three Ukrainian army groups near Bakhmut, but Kiev set its forces, despite limited control in the long-contested city, had the Russians all but pinned down. Russia's Wagner mercenary group captured the shattered eastern city of Bakhmut in May after 10 months of fighting. The commander of a Bodana self-propelled Howitzer, which fires 155 mm NATO standard caliber shells, said since Wagner mercenary fighters had left positions in Bakhmut some time ago, Russia threw in weaker troops. The Russian army in the area has since come under fierce pressure from Ukrainian forces who threatened to encircle it. The Russian Defense Ministry made no comment in its daily briefing on reports that Russian forces had retreated from the village of Klishchivka, just southwest of Bakhmut. A Russian-installed official in eastern Ukraine denied the reports.