The Russian paramilitary group Wagner said on Monday that its troops plan to withdraw from Bakhmut between May 25 and June 1 to relinquish their positions to the army after claiming the capture of this city in eastern Ukraine.
“The Wagner group leaves Artemvsk [nome soviético da cidade] between May 25 and June 1,” the group’s founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an audio recording released by his news agency.
In the message, Prigozhin explains that “defense lines” have been set up on the western edge of Bakhmut.
On Saturday, the group’s head claimed responsibility for taking the city and indicated he would hand over control to Russian forces on May 25.
“If there aren’t enough Department of Defense units [para controlar Bakhmut]we have thousands of generals [para fazer isso]”We need to form a regiment of generals, give everyone weapons and everything will be fine,” Prigozhin said Monday in a critique of the Russian military high command.
Ukraine has not confirmed Bakhmut’s loss. Ukrainian ground forces commander Oleksander Syrsky said on Sunday that his troops had controlled only an “insignificant” part of the city, but were still advancing on the flanks.
Source: DN
