Wagner to leave Bakhmut by June 1, transfer control to Russian army
Bakhmut was previously known as Artemovsk to honour a Soviet revolutionary before Ukraine renamed iy
Yevgeny Prigozhin has claimed his Wagner group has occupied Ukraine’s Bakhmut. AP
The Wagner mercenary group’s head Yevgeny Prigozhin has announced that he will withdraw his troops from Bakhmut by next month and transfer control to the Russian army. The announcement comes just two days after he claimed that the troops have successfully captured the key Ukrainian city.
The claims were however refuted by Kyiv who said that it is hanging on to a corner of the eastern Ukrainian city and that battles are ongoing.
“Wagner will leave Artemovsk from May 25 to June 1,” Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an audio recording on Telegram.
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Bakhmut was previously known as Artemovsk to honour a Soviet revolutionary before Ukraine renamed it.
Before planning the transfer of control, Prigozhin readied troops on the western outskirts of the city.
He said, “If the ministry of defence does not have enough personnel, we have thousands of generals.”
Prigozhin has poured scathing criticism on Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and army chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov, accusing them of being incompetent and causing Moscow’s large-scale losses in the conflict in Ukraine.
Wagner fighters have spearheaded Russia’s storming of Bakhmut and Prigozhin’s influence has risen hugely during Moscow’s Ukraine offensive.
The Russian military claimed on Saturday that it has successfully captured the much-contested eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
The Wagner Group led the all-out offensive in the city. Earlier in the day, Prigozhin said that his troops had finally pushed the Ukrainians out of the last built-up area inside the city.
The Russian defence ministry said in a statement, “As a result of offensive actions by Wagner assault units, supported by artillery and aviation of the Southern Group of Forces, the liberation of Artyomovsk has been completed.”
“Vladimir Putin congratulated the assault units of Wagner as well as all servicemen of units of the Russian armed forces who provided them with the necessary support and flank cover, on the completion of the operation to liberate Artemovsk (the Soviet-era name for Bakhmut),” TASS agency quoted the Kremlin saying.
With inputs from agencies
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