Prigozhin leads the Russian mercenary group, which has played a central role in the Russian attempts to capture the city of Bakhmut over the past six months. Prigozhin says the reason they want to withdraw is that they lack ammunition, and in two telegram messages places the blame on the Russian Defense Ministry. The leader has posted a video on Telegram where he is standing in front of several dead Wagner soldiers. The video is not verified. – These bodies lying here are soldiers from the Wagner group who were killed just today, 4 May, says Yevgeny Prigozhin. The camera then sweeps over what are dozens of dead soldiers lying on the ground. – You see that the blood is fresh, says Prigozhin, and asks the cameraman to take pictures of all those who have been killed. – I declare on behalf of the soldiers in Wagner that on May 10 we are obliged to withdraw from our positions in Bakhmut and hand them over to units of the Russian defense, says Prigozhin. – Russia still wants to take Bakhmut The Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Anna Maljar writes on Telegram that she thinks Russia still wants to take control of Bakhmut by 9 May. This is the day of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany during World War II, and is normally a very important day in Russia. . She writes that according to the information she has, the Wagner group gathers soldiers from other front sections to succeed in this. Per Erik Solli is a senior defense analyst in the Security and Defense Research Group at Nupi. He is not surprised that the Wagner group is now withdrawing from Bakhmut. – But it is important to emphasize that this is not a signal of a general Russian withdrawal. Only that the leader of the paramilitary group Yevgeny Prigozhin has given up hope of throwing out a military victory in order to achieve political gain, says Solli to news. Kremlin: Can’t comment on the “special operation” With strong use of Russian swear words, Yevgeny Prigozhin accuses the chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, and the Russian Minister of Defense, Sergei Shoigu, of being responsible for the death of so many soldiers from Wagner. The Wagner leader also says on the video that what is left of his soldiers must be withdrawn to lick their wounds. Prigozhin comes out hard against both the chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov and the Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu. Photo: SCREEN DUMP/TELEGRAM The press secretary of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, says according to Russian media that he has seen the video, but that he currently has no answer to the accusations from the Wagner leader. – This concerns “The special military operation”, and I cannot comment on that, says Peskov, referring to what Russia calls the invasion of Ukraine. Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, will not comment on the video from Prigozhin. Photo: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP According to Per Erik Solli, there have long been reports that the relationship between the Wagner group and the defense leadership in Russia has been turbulent and challenging. Had colossal losses He believes the withdrawal is because the Wagner group has now had enough. – They have had big losses, which they don’t really care much about. Presumably they have descended to a level where they see no benefit in continuing to fight there. According to Solli, Bakhmut was supposed to be a victory project that was to be used in an internal power struggle in Russia, where they show that the Russian army cannot achieve anything. If they had managed to win the battle for the city, it would have been something Prigozhin could have used internally in Russia, says the defense analyst. – It does not seem that they are able to conquer the city. It then makes no sense to continue fighting and just lose resources on it without having any hope of achieving your own objective. The Wagner group has been responsible for a large part of the Russian forces that have been fighting for Bakhmut for several months. Claims Russian forces are to take over The fighting has raged since last summer, and has been the symbol of the fierce fighting between Ukraine and Russia. Prigozhin claims regular Russian forces are to take over the positions around Bakhmut. There have long been fierce battles in Bakhmut. Here, Ukrainian President Zelenskyj is visiting the Ukrainian forces. Photo: The Ukrainian presidential administration The Wagner group has been important to Russia, so it may become more difficult for the Russians to continue fighting in Ukraine. The news comes at the same time that Ukraine has around 35,000 soldiers who can be deployed in the major offensive against the Russian occupation army, writes the British newspaper Financial Times. The country has been preparing for the big spring offensive for a long time. Listen also:
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Ukraine believes Wagner and Russia will still take Bakhmut – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
