Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the 'Wagner' private military company, tried to justify his group's lack of progress in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, according to a January 3 report from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Analysts note that in this way he partially confirmed to the ISW that the Russian occupying forces in Bakhmut had reached a climax.

"Prigozhin stated that Wagner's offensive operations in Bakhmut are highly attritional... This is a significant inflection for Prigozhin and the first time he has framed Wagner forces in Bakhmut as making effectively no gains," the report notes.

"Prigozhin previously stated that 'Wagner' forces operating in the Bakhmut area advance 100–200 meters a day. The 'Wagner' Group conducted information operations to assert that 'Wagner' Group forces exclusively made gains in Bakhmut without the assistance of other Russian elements in December," the ISW said.

"Prigozhin is likely setting information conditions to blame 'Wagner' Group's failure to take Bakhmut on the Russian Ministry of Defense or the Russian industrial base. 'Wagner' Group soldiers told Prigozhin that they were unable to break through Ukrainian lines in Bakhmut due to insufficient armored vehicles, ammunition, and 100mm shell supplies... This statement seeks to absolve the 'Wagner' Group and Prigozhin of personal responsibility by attributing their failure to capture Bakhmut to the larger Russian resource allocation problems," the report notes.

At the same time, the ISW reports that the Russian occupation troops continue offensive operations in the area of Bakhmut and Avdiyivka in Donetsk region and may be strengthening their grouping in the west of Donetsk region.