“This is the municipal administration building, the administrative center of the city,” said Wagner, founder of the paramilitary group, pointing from the roof of another building in what he believed to be Bakhmut. Yevgueni Prigozhin appears in a video published by the consultant of his company Concord, ensuring that Russian troops are just over a kilometer from the center of Bakhmut, a city that Moscow forces have been trying to contain for several months.
“This is the area, there is constant fighting,” he added. The AFP was unable to confirm the information with independent sources.
“The main thing is to get the right amount of ammunition and move forward,” added Prigozhin. The paramilitary group is in open conflict with the Russian military leadership, in particular to obtain more ammunition, which the leader says is essential to continue the capture of Bakhmut.
Prigozhin again criticized Russian Defense Minister Serguei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov, whom he ironically called “exceptional military commanders”. “I fully, fully support all your efforts,” he said, his tone rising.
Prigozhin’s men are in the furthest reaches of the battle for Bakhmut, which began in the middle of last year and has already claimed heavy casualties on both sides.
Russian troops have tried to encircle the city, which had a population of nearly 70,000 before the conflict a few weeks ago. Moscow forces managed to cut off several key supply routes for Ukrainian troops.
Analysts question Bakhmut’s strategic importance, but the battle – the longest since the start of the Russian offensive more than a year ago – has taken on symbolic value for both Ukraine and Russia, which, after several setbacks in recent months, has been pinned on the victory.
Muscovy vs the Kingdom of Pigs
The Ukrainian president will study an electronic petition with 25,000 signatures proposing to officially change the name from “Russia” to “Moscow”, a proposal rejected by the Kremlin, which retaliated and proposed changing Ukraine’s name to “Kingdom or pigs”.
According to the Ukrainian news agency Unian, the author of the petition claims that the historical name of Russia is Muscovy, which is why he also advocates replacing the words “Russian” with “Muscovite” and “Russian Federation” with “Federation of Moscow” . . Kiev’s proposal was criticized by former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, who “advised” Ukraine in Telegram to change its name to “Kingdom of Pigs,” “followers of Ukrainian nationalist and Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera.”
Source: DN
