Wagner Group leader Yevgueny Prigojin admitted on Friday that Ukrainian troops were approaching up to 500 meters northwest of Bakhmut due to the flight of Russian regular troops protecting that flank of the city.
“Looking at the maps, what is happening in Berkhovka means that the enemy is approaching Bakhmut and will be at a distance of 500 meters from Bakhmut, where he will occupy all tactical positions,” said the leader of the paramilitary group. , visibly annoyed, in a Telegram video.
Prigojin commented on the report released Friday by Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov, who said Russian troops were occupying “more favorable positions” near the Berkhovskaya dam, northwest of the city.
According to the group’s leader, “the loss of the Berkhovskaya dam and these areas, which represent five square kilometers, means that the enemy has liberated the road between Bakhmut and Chasiv Yar” that Wagner forces previously blocked as part of the siege.
In addition, the Ukrainians “will be able to use this route and take advantage of tactical positions from where Bakhmut looks like in the palm of your hand,” he continued.
Prigojin recalled that the Wagner group has been fighting in Bakhmut since October 8, 2022 and has occupied practically the entire city since that date, including the areas lost to regular Russian forces in recent hours.
“Now the reverse process is taking place: after we surrendered the flanks, there was a ‘non’ tactical withdrawal and therefore Comrade Konashenkov falsified reality. There was a flight of Ministry of Defense units through the flanks,” he said. . .
After that, he predicted, the Ukrainians will begin “the gradual encirclement” of Bakhmut.
“Exactly what I have been warning about for a long time. For this reason, the minister [russo] of Defence [Sergei Shoigu] and the chief of staff [Valery Gerasimov] managed with their actions to first reduce the number of Wagner’s troops so that they could not hold the flanks, then they decided that their brave soldiers could hold the flanks, but fled,” he joked.
Prigojin insisted that the defense ministry is still not giving the paramilitary group “weapons or equipment for war, with the intention of eventually draining Wagner,” and despite this, his strike groups continue to attack the last Ukrainian strongholds in western Ukraine. .
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 has so far led to the flight of more than 14.7 million people – 6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than 8.2 million to European countries – according to the latest data from the UN, which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
At least 18 million Ukrainians need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million need food aid and shelter.
The Russian invasion – justified by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russian security – was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and Russia political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented as confirmed since the start of the war, which this Friday entered its 441st day, 8,791 civilian deaths and 14,815 wounded, underlining that these numbers are far below the real ones.
Source: DN
