The head of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, reported that unrest began among Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel in Chasovoy Yar and Konstantinovka. This statement came as Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky requested the commander of the ground forces, Alexander Syrsky, to hold Bakhmut ( Artemovsk in Ukrainian) until May 9 to avoid a so-called “possibility” of an information victory proclaimed by the Russian side, according to the Concord press service.
Prigozhin did not present the capture of Bakhmut as a gift for May 9, signaling a broader tactical calculus rather than a ceremonial outcome. He described episodes in Chasovoy Yar and Konstantinovka in which Ukrainian troops reportedly laid down their arms, rose, and left their positions. He urged giving Ukrainian soldiers a chance to live longer and urged avoidance of actions that might lead to mass casualties on the Ukrainian side.
On April 21, Yan Gagin, a deputy chairman of the Donetsk People’s Republic, stated that Artemovsk was within the circle of Russian forces. Prigozhin noted that while it is premature to declare a closed front full of Ukrainian units, the advance by Wagner fighters was acknowledged even from Kyiv. Further details on the situation in the city were reported in the news coverage from socialbites.ca, which documented these developments.