On Friday, Wagner Group commander Yevgeny Prigozhin abruptly announced that his soldiers would abandon Bakhmut, a Ukrainian city they had been aiming to conquer since last summer.
Prigozhin indicated they would withdraw on May 10 because of huge losses and low ammo.
“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 removing Wagner units from Bakhmut because they’ll die needlessly without ammunition.”
Since last summer, Wagner has led Russia’s takeover of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s longest and deadliest conflict.
Prigozhin’s statement was ambiguous since he often makes rash statements. He retracted a “joke” comment last week.
His newest one follows an expletive-filled film aired early Friday. Prigozhin, surrounded by scores of Wagner fighter corpses, shouted and swore at Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov. Wagner’s losses were their own because they deprived it of ammunition.
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