Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin is shown in a video from the cockpit of a military plane threatening Ukrainian President, Zelenskyy to an aerial combat.
The commander of the infamous mercenary group was reportedly aboard a Su-24 bomber jet piloted by Wagner in what appeared to be the most recent effort to promote Mr. Prigozhin and his private army.
"Volodymyr Oleksandrovych [Zelenskyy], we have arrived," he said.
"Bakhmut was bombarded. I'm going to fly a MiG-29 tomorrow. Let's meet in the skies if you like. If you win, you will seize Artyomovsk [Bakhmut]. If not, we will continue until we reach [the River] Dnipro."
Wagner soldiers have been bolstering Russian troops in eastern Ukraine, pressing towards the strategic city of Bakhmut.
Wagner presently has around 50,000 troops deployed in Ukraine, including 10,000 contractors and 40,000 criminals recruited from Russian jails, according to the US.