Russian Mercenary Boss Admits Ukrainian Troops in Trained Bakhmut: Counterattack Is Unavoidable

JAKARTA - The head of Russia's Wagner Group mercenaries Yevgeny Prigozhin said Ukraine was preparing for an inevitable counteroffensive, sending well-prepared units to the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut, for months a focal point of the fighting.

In an aggressive audio message posted on his Telegram channel, Prigozhin also renewed his criticism of Russia's security establishment, saying there was "betrayal" taking place inside Russia, as he criticized the Ministry of Defense for not sending out a shipment of ammunition that its fighters urgently need.

"Today, well-trained enemy units have been thrown into Bakhmut... A counterattack by the Ukrainians is unavoidable," said Prigozhin, adding that he expected the campaign to start after May 2, when the weather had improved and the ground had hardened, reported by Reuters, April 27.

Prigozhin - who for months had publicly quarreled with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu over the conduct of the war - said his troops had suffered five times as many casualties because of a lack of support from Moscow.

He also questioned why Russian troops did not launch attacks on the nearby cities of Sloviansk or Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine to reduce pressure on Bakhmut.

However, he said his troops would do anything to stop Ukraine's attempts to retake the town.

"We will advance at any cost, only to destroy the Ukrainian army and disrupt their offensive," Prigozhin said.

Russia says taking control of Bakhmut will allow it to carry out further attacks in eastern Ukraine. Despite downplaying its strategic importance for Moscow, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly refused to withdraw his troops from there.

Taking the city - which Prigozhin said on April 11 was more than 80% controlled by Wagner's forces - would be Russia's first major victory in the conflict, since a series of major withdrawals from the northeastern Kharkiv region and southern Kherson region last fall.