Prigozhin on Monday called press reports that he had offered to provide information about the locations of Russian forces to Ukrainian intelligence “ridiculous”.
The head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed on Wednesday evening that the decline in air coverage of the Russian forces in Bakhmut represents a withdrawal from the city, which has been witnessing fierce fighting for months.
“This Russian withdrawal makes the siege of the Ukrainian forces impossible,” Prigozhin said, in an audio recording on Telegram.
He said, “Although the enemy is located in a very small place from Bakhmut, the recent step of the Russian forces made it impossible to surround the Ukrainians,” blaming the Russian Defense Ministry for using “wrong strategies” in the city.
Despite this, Prigozhin stressed that his forces would take the city in the coming days.
disagreement with the Kremlin
On Monday, Prigozhin described press reports that he had offered to provide information about the locations of Russian forces to Ukrainian intelligence as “ridiculous”.
The Washington Post daily reported on Sunday that Yevgeny Prigozhin had repeatedly offered Ukrainian intelligence to provide it with information about the locations of Russian army units, in return for the withdrawal of Kiev forces from the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, where his elements are fighting a fierce battle.
The newspaper stated that it based its information on leaked US intelligence documents, and unnamed Ukrainian and US officials.
The assertions, which cannot be independently verified, come as a rift escalates between Prigozhin and the Russian General Staff in the context of the war in Ukraine.
Prigozhin has been publicly criticizing the Russian General Staff for months, accusing it of not providing his fighters with the necessary ammunition to allow them to take control of Bakhmut.
