The owner of the Private Military Company «Wagner» Yevgeny Prigozhin, once again stated that his mercenaries have begun to withdraw from Bakhmut.
This statement was made by Prigozhin’s press service.
“We are all leaving by June 1, taking a rest, getting prepared, and then we will receive a new assignment”, said Prigozhin.
He recorded a three-minute video discussing the so-called “withdrawal” from the city, urging his “soldiers” not to rush and to withdraw one unit of equipment at a time.
Prigozhin also stated that his “Wagnerites” would move to rear areas, and supposedly the positions in Bakhmut would be handed over to the control of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
At the same time, Prigozhin did not hide his sarcastic tone when speaking about the Russian regular forces. He assured that his mercenaries were ready to come to the aid of the Russian forces when they once again start surrendering their positions.
Earlier, we reported that the Wagner PMC is unlikely to continue fighting outside of Bakhmut. This was reported by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). According to analysts, the Wagnerites were allowed to continue offensive operations in Bakhmut because the Russian regular forces took responsibility for the flanks of the city. This allowed the mercenaries to focus on urban warfare.
Meanwhile, Wagner has begun to show signs since the end of December 2022 that it is unable to continue offensive operations outside of Bakhmut.
Photo: Open sources
