"As of midday on 20 May 2023, Artemovsk .... was fully taken," Prigozhin said in a video message posted on Telegram.
The hotly contested Bakhmut, located north of the city of Donetsk, has been the center of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine for months.
The city is an important transport hub, with many crossroads for Donbass, and used to serve as a vital center for supplying Ukrainian troops stationed in the region at the beginning of the military operation launched by Russia in Ukraine over a year ago.