JAKARTA - Wagner Group's chief mercenaries Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a sudden and dramatic announcement on Friday his troops would withdraw from the city of Bakhmut, Ukraine, which they have been trying to fight for in vain since last summer.
Prigozhin said they would step down on May 10, ending engagement in the longest and bloodiest fighting, due to heavy losses and inadequate supplies of ammunition. He also asked the defense chief to place regular soldiers instead.
"I declare on behalf of the Wagner fighters, on behalf of Wagner's command, that on May 10, 2023, we are obliged to move positions in the Bakhmut settlements to the Defense Ministry units and withdraw Wagner's remains to logistical camps to treat our injuries," Prigozhin said in a statement. a statement.
"I withdrew the Wagner unit from Bakhmut, because without ammunition, they would surely die for no reason," he said.
Bakhmut, a city of 70,000 people before the start of the war, has become a very important symbol for both sides because of the intensity and duration of fighting there.
Wagner has spearheaded Russia's efforts to seize it, with Prigozhin saying three weeks ago his men took control of more than 80 percent of the city.
But Ukraine's fighters have survived, and Prigozhin has vented growing anger over what he described as a lack of support from the Russian defense.
It is not clear whether his latest statement is acceptable, because he has often uploaded impulsive comments in the past. Just last week he withdrew a statement he thought he made as a "smooth".
Earlier, on Friday he appeared in a video surrounded by dozens of bodies that he said were Wagner fighters, seen shouting and cursing Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and General Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov.
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"We lack 70 percent ammunition. Shoigu! Gerasimov! Where is the ammunition?" he shouted at the camera.
The announcement comes at an important time in the war, with Ukraine expected to launch a long-awaited counter-attack in the near future.
Separately, the Kremlin declined to comment on Prigozhin's remarks, citing the fact that it was related to "special military operations" in Ukraine.
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