The Ukrainian armed forces confirmed on the Telegram social network on Tuesday evening that one of the Russian brigades that tried to take over the city of Bakhmut abandoned its positions, leaving 500 dead soldiers behind.
‘It is official. Prigozhin’s information [líder da brigada militar privada russa Wagner] about the escape of the 72nd Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces and the ‘500 corpses’ left by the Russians are true,” reads the message on the official account of the third Ukrainian assault brigade.
In one of the videos about the situation on the frontline, Prigozhin had already accused the 72nd brigade of the Russian army of abandoning its positions after losing “three square kilometers” in a strategic area, in which the Russians lost 500 men.
“They grabbed things and just ran away,” Prigozhin said.
The statements of the Russian oligarch and boss of the Wagner group, whose fighters were hired to fight in Bakhmut, were broadcast at the same time as the traditional May 9 (Victory Day) parade, marking the capitulation of Nazi Germany. marks, in 1945.
On Tuesday night, the Ukrainian army’s separate third brigade said in a Telegram post that in two days it had knocked out 64 Russian fighters and wounded another 87 in southeastern Bakhmut, where Ukrainian troops continue to defend a part of the city they still hold. always check. .
“Russian casualties include mercenaries from the Wagner group,” reads the note from the Ukrainian brigade, which also reports the capture of five Russian prisoners of war and the destruction of Russian military equipment.
Russia launched its offensive against Bakhmut in August last year. Despite controlling most of the territory in this region, Russian troops have not yet managed to completely expel the Ukrainians from this small town, where they have invested significant technical and human resources.
Ukraine also suffered significant losses defending Bakhmut. Kiev justifies its insistence on defending the last positions in the city by wanting to exhaust Russian troops and prevent them from launching offensive actions in other parts of the battlefront.
Source: DN
