Leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Denis Pushilin revealed on Wednesday that units belonging to Russia's Wagner military group are "making progress" in Bakhmut.

"But units, in particular Wagner, are advancing in Artyomovsk [Bakhmut] itself, and fighting is already going on somewhere on the outskirts, and somewhere in those quarters that were recently held by the enemy," the Russian-installed leader told reporters.

Previously, the United States designated the Wagner Group as "criminal organization" claiming that it posed "threat" to international security owing to its "criminal activity." The group is also believed to have obtain weapons from North Korea last year.