Wagner: Russian army fleeing north Bakhmut
Published on: Sunday, May 14, 2023
By: AFP
Ukrainian forces had captured positions at a reservoir and on tactical heights around the Bakhmut.
Moscow: The head of Russia’s private Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin said that Moscow’s conventional army was leaving its positions near the eastern Ukraine hotspot town of Bakhmut.His comments came just after Russia’s defence ministry announced it had redeployed forces around to take up stronger defensive positions north of Bakhmut.
ADVERTISEMENT
“This is not called regrouping, this is fleeing,” Prigozhin said in an audio statement posted on social media.
In a separate video message, Prigozhin said the defence ministry units “simply went fleeing” from positions around north and south of the city.
“The flanks are failing. The front is collapsing” the Kremlin-ally said.
He said Ukrainian forces had captured positions at a reservoir and on tactical heights around the Bakhmut.
ADVERTISEMENT
Kyiv’s forces had also taken control of a road leading to Bakhmut from another smaller town Chasiv Yar further east, which Russian forces had controlled.
AFP could not verify his claims.
ADVERTISEMENT
A rivalry between Prigozhin and conventional army chiefs has come to the surface during the fight for Bakhmut, the longest and bloodiest of the conflict.
Prigozhin has repeatedly claimed that the Russian defence ministry was refusing to deliver ammunition and has accused its chiefs in vitriolic statements.
In Rome, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Rome to meet with Pope Francis and Italian leaders, as Germany unveiled a new weapons package ahead of an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive.
“An important visit for approaching victory of Ukraine!” Zelensky tweeted shortly after arriving in the EU and NATO member Italy on his first visit since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Despite a history of warm ties with Moscow, including within the hard-right coalition government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Italy has been a strong supporter of Kyiv, sending weapons and aid and backing sanctions against Russia.
Pope Francis, who last hosted Zelensky at the Vatican in February 2020, has repeatedly called for peace in Ukraine and prays for the victims of the war almost every week.
Security forces locked down large areas of Rome ahead of Zelensky’s visit, which will include an audience with the pope at the Vatican and meetings with premier Meloni and with Italian President Sergia Mattarella, who holds a largely ceremonial post.
There is widespread speculation that Zelensky’s trip to Rome could be followed by a visit to Berlin, which on Saturday announced a huge new weapons package for Ukraine.
Germany’s defence ministry said it was preparing a package worth 2.7 billion euros ($2.95 billion), reportedly Berlin’s largest since Russia invaded its neighbour.
“We all hope for a rapid end to this terrible war by Russia against the Ukrainian people, but unfortunately this is not in sight,” Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said in a statement.
“This is why Germany will supply all the help that it can, for as long as necessary,” he said.
The package will include 30 additional Leopard-1 tanks, Marder armoured vehicles, air-defence systems and surveillance drones, the ministry said.
Der Spiegel magazine said it would be Germany’s largest package to Kyiv since the outbreak of the war.
Western allies have delivered to Ukraine increasingly powerful weapons, though not yet the advanced fighter jets that Zelensky has requested.
The UK government this week announced it would send Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine, becoming the first country to provide longer-range weapons to Kyiv, in what Russia called “an extremely hostile step”.
On the ground, conflicting reports from the frontline eastern city of Bakhmut suggest an increase in fighting in Ukraine after months of relative stability, as expectations grow over Kyiv’s spring counteroffensive.
The question of when and where Ukraine might launch its high stakes battle to push Russian forces from occupied land has been the subject of steady speculation, even as Zelensky insisted earlier this week that his army needed more time to prepare.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
