The head of the Russian mercenary company Wagner said today that inhibits shelling Bakhmut with artillery fire to allow Ukrainian forces on the other side of the front line to safely show the town to visiting American journalists.

Wagner is the spearhead of the Russian attack in Bahamut since last summer. The battle there is the longest and bloodiest of the war so far, but Ukrainian forces have so far thwarted Russian efforts to capture the entire city.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Wagner, says in an audio message released by his press office:

“A decision was made to suspend artillery fire so that the American journalists could safely film Bahamut and go home.”

In the same message Prigozhin warns the Ukrainian side not to attempt to bring in additional forces under cover of the journalists’ visit.

Reuters notes that was unable to confirmi directly from an independent source whether or not Wagner actually suspended artillery fire.

Yesterday, Wednesday, Prigozhin lashed out at the Ministry of Defense, saying that it is not sending its fighters the much-needed ammunition.