nsiderable rate in this battle," she said. "The human mass of its infantry is a formidable weapon, it seems inexhaustible in volume and in time."
But even if it did capture the "small town", she added, "it will not impact the strategic corridors we still control in the region".
British military intelligence said that the Bakhmutka River in the centre of the city now marked the front line.
"Ukrainian forces hold the west of the town and have demolished key bridges over the river, which runs north-south through a strip of open ground 200 metres-800 metres wide," the British defence ministry said.
"This area has become a killing zone, likely making it highly challenging for Wagner forces attempting to continue their frontal assault westwards."
Wagner chief Prigozhin, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, has been entangled in a power struggle with the defence ministry.
He has several times claimed battlefield victories ahead of Russia's army, criticised the country's top brass and accused the military of not sharing ammunition with Wagner forces.
On Saturday he said he was ready to ask Russia's top commanders for forgiveness but at the same time appeared to mock Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
He said they were "outstanding military commanders" and added that Russia's greatest military leaders including Georgy Zhukov and Alexander Suvorov "could have learnt" from them.
"I absolutely -- totally -- support all their initiatives," Prigozhin added.
- Shelling of Kherson -
Since Russia's retreat from the city of Kherson late last year, it has been regularly pounded by Moscow's troops.
The Russian army has kept shelling the southern city, killing three people and wounding another two, Ukrainian officials said Saturday.
"Russian terrorists are shelling Kherson again," said Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, posting a picture of firefighters next to a charred car.
Galyna Kolisnyk, 53, said the Russians struck when she was in a store.
"When we entered, literally five minutes later this tragedy happened," she told AFP.
"Explosions began, our car got hit," she said. "This is horrible."
Kherson is the capital of one of the four regions -- along with Donetsk, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia -- that Russia claims to have annexed but does not fully control.
Donetsk's separatist mayor Alexei Kulemzin said Saturday that Ukrainian shelling had killed two people including a young boy.
Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS)