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Yevgeny Prigozhin in the cockpit of a military Su-24 bomber plane over an unidentified location
Photo: CONCORD PRESS SERVICE / via REUTERS
The head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claims to have been on a fighter jet that attacked the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
"We landed, we bombed Bakhmut," Prigozhin said in a video published on the Telegram online service.
In it, he can be seen wearing a helmet and a pilot's mask.
Bakhmut is the epicenter of fighting in eastern Ukraine.
Prigozhin challenged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to a battle in the skies over Bakhmut.
The Wagner boss said he would board a fighter jet again on Tuesday.
'If you're willing, we'll meet in the sky.
If you win, you'll get Artemovsk back, if not, we'll go to the (river) Dnipro,” Prigozhin said.
Artemovsk is the Russian name for Bakhmut.
Russian offensive on Bakhmut
Wagner mercenaries fight on the front lines in Ukraine alongside the Russian army and also take part in the Russian offensive on Bakhmut.
Moscow has been trying to take the city since the summer, suffering heavy losses on both sides.
The Ukrainians have recently been weakened there by Russian territorial gains, particularly in the city of Soledar further north.
Zelenskyi said on Saturday that the situation for the Ukrainians was becoming more complicated at several points on the front, especially in Bakhmut.
However, we should fight for Bachmut "as long as we can".
Wagner boss Prigoschin spoke on Sunday of "hard fights" for every street.
The Ukrainian parliament passed a resolution on Monday classifying the Wagner mercenary group as a "terrorist organization".
tfb/AFP