 Russian media outlet Izveshia has published a report by one of its correspondents in eastern Ukrainian town Bakhmut. Standing on the balcony of a high-rise building with rows of badly damaged buildings below, Izveshia reporter Alexei Poltoranin points to the ground below where he says there are members of the Wagner Group, Russian private military company. Later in the Izveshia report, one Wagner soldier tells Poltoranin that the Ukrainian defenders of the town are fighting back. The battle for Bakhmut has turned into one of the bloodiest of the 14-month war with the eastern Ukrainian city almost completely destroyed by artillery shelling and urban combat. Russia says capturing Bakhmut will allow it to mount further offensives into eastern Ukraine. If they succeed, Moscow's forces are likely to face even larger urban battles for the nearby towns of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. Russia's defence ministry on Sunday said troops secured two more blocks in Bakhmut's western districts and that airborne units were providing reinforcements to the north and south. Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the private Wagner military force, which is leading the assault on the city, has claimed his troops control 80% of Bakhmut. Kiev has repeatedly denied claims that its forces are poised to withdraw.