Putin’s Wagner Group ‘private army’ chief criticizes regular Russian troops for withdrawing around Bakhmut

The head of Vladimir Putin’s Wagner Group “private army” on Thursday criticized regular Russian troops for withdrawing around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

Yevgeny Prigozhin accused regular Russian army units of falling back 570 meters north of the city, exposing the flanks of their own fighters.

Wagner’s forces have been leading the assault on Bakhmut in some of the fiercest fighting since World War II.

Prigozhin, who has repeatedly accused Russia’s top military commanders of not doing enough to back his men, called on the Defense Ministry to do everything possible to protect Bakhmut’s flanks after what he claimed was a withdrawal.

“Unfortunately, Russian Defense Ministry units have withdrawn up to 570 meters north of Bakhmut, exposing our flanks,” Prigozhin said in a voicemail.

“I appeal to the top leadership of the Ministry of Defense, publicly, because my letters are not read,” Prigozhin said.

“Please don’t abandon the flanks,” he said, addressing Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff.

Wagner says he has taken most of the shattered city in the eastern province of Donetsk.

Earlier, Ukrainian army chiefs said their soldiers had recaptured more territory in heavy fighting around Bakhmut despite being outnumbered and outgunned by Russian forces.

Last week, kyiv said it increased pressure on Moscow’s troops north and south of Bakhmut.

Russian forces came close to capturing most of the city, according to some claims.

However, Ukrainian troops have recaptured ground on the flanks of the besieged city.

“Despite the fact that our units do not have an advantage in equipment … and personnel, they continued to advance on the (Russian) flanks and covered a distance of 150 to 1,700 meters (165 to 1,850 yards),” military. spokesman Serhiy Cherevatyi said in televised remarks.

It did not specify during which period the gains had been made.

His claims could not be independently verified.

Military experts say that while the Ukrainian forces cannot match the size and firepower of the Russian army, they have much higher morale as they defend their country.

Moscow sees Bakhmut, with a population of around 70,000 before Russia’s full-scale invasion nearly 15 months ago, as a stepping stone to capturing the rest of the eastern Donbas region.

But Putin has sacrificed thousands of Russian lives in a desperate and so far unsuccessful attempt to take over the city.

Ukrainian officials have noted that the localized advances around Bakhmut are not part of a broader counteroffensive planned by kyiv to push back Russian forces.

Western officials say the Ukrainian military is largely ready for a full-scale move, but the timing comes down to kyiv.

Britain has led the way in arming Ukraine, first pledging tanks, Challenger II and now long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles.

Russia fired 30 cruise missiles at different parts of Ukraine early Thursday in the latest overnight test of Ukrainian air defenses, shooting down 29 of them, authorities said.

Moscow is believed to be intensifying attacks ahead of the expected Ukrainian counter-offensive.

One person was killed and two wounded by a Russian missile that tore through and struck an industrial building in the southern Odessa region, according to Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesman for the region’s military administration.

Loud explosions were heard in Kiev as Kremlin forces attacked the capital for the ninth time this month in a clear escalation after weeks of lull and ahead of a highly anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive using newly supplied advanced Western weapons.

Debris fell in two kyiv districts, starting a fire in a garage complex. There was no immediate word on any casualties, Serhiy Popko, head of the kyiv Military Administration, said in a Telegram post.

Ukraine also shot down two Russian explosive drones and two reconnaissance drones, according to authorities.

The bombardment in Ukraine included six Russian Kinzhal hypersonic aeroballistic missiles, the most fired in a single strike in the war so far, according to Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat.

The missiles were launched from Russian sea, air and land bases, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the Ukrainian commander-in-chief, wrote on Telegram.

Several waves of missiles targeted areas of Ukraine between 9 p.m. Wednesday and 5:30 a.m. Thursday, he said.

Russian forces used strategic bombers from the Caspian region and apparently fired X-101 and X-55 type missiles developed during Soviet times, kyiv authorities said. Russia then deployed reconnaissance drones over the capital.

In the latest major airstrike on kyiv on Tuesday, Ukrainian air defenses bolstered by sophisticated Western-supplied systems shot down all incoming missiles, authorities said.

That attack used hypersonic missiles, which Putin has repeatedly touted as a key strategic advantage. The missiles, which are among the most advanced weapons in Russia’s arsenal, are difficult to detect and intercept due to their hypersonic speed and maneuverability.

But sophisticated Western air defense systems, including US-made Patriot missiles, have helped save Kiev from the kind of destruction witnessed along the country’s main eastern and southern front lines.

While ground fighting is largely stalemate along that front line, both sides are targeting each other’s territory with long-range weapons.

Meanwhile, authorities set up by the Kremlin in occupied Crimea reported the derailment of eight train carriages on Thursday due to an explosion.

Russian state media reported that the train was carrying grain.

Citing a source within the emergency services, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency said the incident occurred not far from the city of Simferopol. The Crimean Railway reported that the derailment was caused by “interference by unauthorized persons” and that there were no casualties.

Russian-installed Crimea chief Sergei Aksyonov said train services on the affected section of the line have been suspended.

In addition, two people were injured in a drone strike in the southern Russian Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, the regional governor said on Thursday.

In a Telegram post, Roman Starovoit claimed that Ukrainian forces dropped an explosive device from a drone at a sports and recreation complex.

The claim could not be independently verified.

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Putin’s Wagner Group ‘private army’ chief criticizes regular Russian troops for withdrawing around Bakhmut

Putin’s Wagner Group ‘private army’ chief criticizes regular Russian troops for withdrawing around Bakhmut

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