“I thank Ramzan Akhmadovich (Kadyrov) for probably agreeing to provide the opportunity to obtain all the necessary and all the necessary resources to take over our positions in Bakhmut,” Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group, said in a letter. dated Saturday.
And Prigozhin continued: “I am already contacting the representatives of the Chechen president in order to immediately begin the transfer of posts, so that on May 10, when, according to our calculations, we will completely exhaust our combat potential and our comrades will take our seats and move on… In Bakhmut there are just over two square kilometers left.
Kadyrov said on Friday that he was ready to send his Chechen forces to Bakhmut, to replace the “Wagner” group.
Dispute “Wagner” and Moscow
• On Friday, ‘Wagner’ forces announced their intention to withdraw from Bakhmut, but Kiev said the group’s fighters were reinforcing their positions in an attempt to seize the city before Russia celebrates the May Day next week. Victory Day.
• Prigozhin said his fighters were suffering from a shortage of ammunition and he expected the army to replace its forces in Bakhmut soon, which jeopardizes the goal to which Russia has always attached great importance. importance in its attack on its neighbour.
• He added in a video clip accompanied by a written announcement of withdrawal: “My men will not suffer unnecessary and unjustified losses without ammunition”, addressing the Russian Chief of Staff, the Ministry of Defense and to President Vladimir Putin as Supreme Commander.
• It was stated in the statement that the ‘bureaucrats’ blocked the supply, despite knowing that ‘Wagner’s’ target timeframe to control the city is May 9, when Moscow celebrates Victory Day in the Second World War.
• Prigozhin added in the clip: “If you, because of your petty jealousy, don’t want to give the Russian people the victory to seize Bakhmut, then that’s your problem.”
Russian state news agency RIA later reported that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had assigned one of his two deputies to ensure the forces had the weapons they needed.
The Battle of Bakhmut, which Russia sees as a stepping stone to other towns still beyond its control in the industrial Donbass region, was the fiercest battle of the conflict, in which both sides lost thousands lives in a fierce war for months.
Ukrainian forces have been retreating in recent weeks, but they are steadfast in the city in order to inflict the greatest possible casualties on the Russians before the next counterattack from Kiev, along the front line which stretches for a thousand kilometers.
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