Russian President Vladimir Putin's private army 'withdrawing from Bakhmut' after row with army chiefs
Wagner has been spearheading Russia's attempt to capture Bakhmut since last summer, in the longest and bloodiest battle of the war in Ukraine. Putin has made it a prized aim to seize the town.
FollowRussian President Vladimir Putin's Wagner Group "private army" head on Friday (May 5) threatened to pull his troops out of the eastern town of Bakhmut after a ferocious bust-up with Russian army chiefs.
According to reports, Yevgeny Prigozhin's forces would on May 10 leave the Ukrainian town which has seen some of the fiercest fighting in Europe since the Second World War. He made the announcement after unleashing a tirade against Russian army chiefs for not supplying his mercenary soldiers with enough munitions, displaying the bodies of several of them in a video to highlight how they are being slaughtered leading the fight for Bakhmut.
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"I declare on behalf of the Wagner fighters, on behalf of the Wagner command, that on May 10, 2023, we are obliged to transfer positions in the settlement of Bakhmut to units of the defence ministry and withdraw the remains of Wagner to logistics camps to lick our wounds," Prigozhin said.
"I'm pulling Wagner units out of Bakhmut because in the absence of ammunition they’re doomed to perish senselessly," Prigozhin added.
Meanwhile, Wagner has been spearheading Russia's attempt to capture Bakhmut since last summer, in the longest and bloodiest battle of the war in Ukraine. Putin has made it a prized aim to seize the town.
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However, despite the town's lack of strategic significance, Ukrainian military leaders surprised defence analysts by choosing to fight to hold onto it. However, maintaining control of it now has symbolic value.
It was not clear if Prigozhin will see through his withdrawal threat or whether he is just seeking to pile pressure on Russian army chiefs to give his forces more ammunition.
The clash between the Russian President's military chiefs came as Ukraine is on the brink of launching a major counter-offensive to try to recapture land seized by Russia since the invasion in February 2022.
