Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group mercenary company, said on Thursday, andThe beginning of the withdrawal of his troops from the city of Bakhmut And transfer of positions to the army Russian Army.
“We retreated very carefully,” Prigozhin said in a video he posted on his Telegram channel.
On the 21st, while announcing the complete capture of Bakhmut after nearly ten months of fighting, the Wagnerian leader, after his troops had completed their mission, said: they would withdraw to training camps in the rear areas from this Thursday..
“We have handed over positions to the military, ammunition and even food rations,” he said.
Ironically, he added, he abandoned the two Wagnerians in case the army needed help defending its positions.
“We will meet together before June 1let’s rest, get ready, and then we will take another task, ”Prigozhin told the crew of a tank.
On the eve of the beginning of the Wagnerian retreat, Prigozhin admitted: about 10,000 Russian prisoners Those recruited by his group were killed in the battle for control of Bakhmut.
In an interview with Konstantin Dolgov, a pro-government political scientist, he admitted to conscripting about 50,000 men in Russian prisons.
said Prigozhin hhaving lost a total of 15,000-16,000 men In that city in eastern Ukraine.
The leader of the mercenaries estimated the death toll on the Ukrainian side at 50,000-70,000, while the United States estimates Russian casualties at the Battle of Bakhmut at around 100,000.