Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov called the Washington Post publication “like a duck” that PMC Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin allegedly offered Ukraine to transfer information about Russian troop positions in exchange for the withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (APU) from Bakhmut (Artemovsk (Bakhmut)). Peskov’s commentary son telegram channel of radio “Mayak”.
“Looks like another duck. Unfortunately, even respected publications of recent years do not disdain him often enough,” the Kremlin spokesman said.
What the Washington Post wrote
On May 14, the Washington Post (WP) reported, citing leaked secret Pentagon documents, that at the end of January 2023, Yevgeny Prigozhin allegedly proposed to representatives of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine ( GUR) to reveal the location of troops in exchange for the withdrawal of the Ukrainian army from Bakhmut. According to one of the leaked Pentagon documents, Prigozhin not only spoke to GUR officers on the phone, but also met them in an African country.
Two unnamed Ukrainian officials confirmed to WP that Prigozhin allegedly spoke to GUR representatives “several times”. He “repeatedly made proposals regarding Bakhmut”, but they were rejected in Kiev because they do not trust Prigozhin, and therefore considered his proposals insincere, said one of the interlocutors of the publication.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an interview with The Washington Post, did not confirm contacts with Prigozhin, noting that it was “a matter of military intelligence.”
What Prigogine says
Evgeny Prigozhin himself declared through his press service that he was last in Africa a few months before the start of the military operation in Ukraine, “so I just couldn’t physically meet anyone there”. Prigozhin called the publication a hoax, behind which are journalists who decided to “cheat” or “comrades of Rublyovka who sold oil.”
On May 5, Yevgeny Prigozhin announced that the Wagner PMC would begin withdrawing from Bakhmut on May 10 due to shortage of ammunition and high casualties among fighters. Chechnya leader Ramzan Kadyrov said the “Wagnerians” were ready to be replaced by fighters from the Ahmad Battalion.
Four days later, Prigozhin said the fighters had received “10% of what was requested”, but promised to stay in Bakhmut for a few more days. On May 11, he reported that “in the direction of Artemivsk units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are penetrating from the flanks and, unfortunately, in some places they are succeeding.”
Two days later, Prigozhin invited Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to Bakhmut to assess the situation.
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