Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the private military company “Wagner” Wrote A video message on May 10, in which the PMC announced that it would leave Bakhmut (the Russian name of the city is Artemovsk) and transfer positions to units of the RF Armed Forces. Words on Friday, May 5, opens businessman’s press office.
“I am withdrawing the Wagner units from Bakhmut, because they are doomed to a meaningless death in the absence of ammunition,” Prigozhin said, addressing the military command and the President of the Russian Federation.
He claims that according to the original plan, the PMC should occupy Bakhmut by May 9, 2023. According to him, now the Wagner warriors “need to take only 2 square meters. km in a city of 45 square meters. kilometer”.
However, the PMC will not continue the fight due to the lack of shells, which Prigogine estimated at 90%, and the high casualties of PMC personnel.
At the same time, Wagner plans to stay in Bakhmut until May 9, so that “Victory Day, a holy holiday for the Russians, may be greeted with the brilliance of Russian weapons.” PMC.
“Due to the lack of ammunition, our losses are increasing exponentially every day,” said Prigozhin.
He asked the chief of staff to indicate the date when units of the Russian army at positions in Bakhmut will replace the Wagner fighters. According to him, the remains of the PMCs will be taken to the “back camps to lick their wounds”.
Before Prigogine showed The losses suffered by Wagner in one day and demanded the Russian Ministry of Defense to supply more shells.
To the statement of the founder of PMC reacted in the Kremlin.
“We’ve seen it in the media but I can’t comment as it’s about the transfer. special military operation“, – said the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov.
conflict in Artemovsk
At his address today, Prigozhin recalled that the PMC “Wagner” began to appear. Special operations in Ukraine In March last year, and on October 8, it was decided to conduct the operation“ Bakhmut meat grinder ”with Army General Surovikin.
According to him, this operation “showed its highest effectiveness, diverting large numbers of enemy forces and allowing the Russian army to occupy more advantageous defensive lines and continue the offensive.”
Later, Wagner PMC’s divisions, in the words of the company’s founder, “fallen out of favor with bureaucrats close to the military.”
“Artificial shell starvation has begun. An attempt was made to create an artificial staffing gap. <…> The offensive resources of the Wagner PMC ended at the beginning of April, but we are advancing, despite the enemy forces being five times our number.
This is in line with the standards of at least threefold advantage, which should be on our side during the attack, ”Prigozhin said.
He described the situation with bullets in March of this year as “far from ideal” and stressed that despite some positive changes in this regard, shortages persist and there are not enough bullets. In February, Prigogine stated that the “bullet starvation” problem, despite all its connections, remained unresolved.
In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that at the end of April, the country was preparing for a counterattack, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine were preparing. i can’t leave Bakhmut, because in this case the Russian troops will have the opportunity to occupy more territory. According to him, complete control over the city will create a “springboard” for further attacks on Kramatorsk and Slavyansk.