The head of Russia’s largest private military company, businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is part of President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, reportedly offered Ukrainian intelligence services in January this year to transfer information about the location of the Russian army in Ukraine in exchange for the withdrawal of Ukrainian Armed Forces units from Bakhmut. This is according to the publication of the newspaper The Washington Post (WP), citing secret US intelligence documents “leaked” to the social network Discord by the officer of the Air National Guard Jack Teixeira, who is now arrested and made the subject of an investigation.
The conclusions of Washington Post journalists are based on the study of information so far unconfirmed contained in these classified documents.
Reuters and AFP were unable to independently verify this information.
PMC Wagner mercenaries actively participate in the battles for the capture of Bakhmut, a city in eastern Ukraine, where the longest and bloodiest battles since the beginning of the Russian invasion have taken place. Prigozhin has sharply criticized the Russian military command in recent months, accusing commanders of betraying “Wagnerians” who do not receive ammunition from the Russian Defense Ministry in time.
The Washington Post article claims that Kyiv rejected Prigozhin’s proposal due to a complete lack of trust in the Wagner PMC boss.
Prigozhin categorically denied the information in the publication, calling the statements of the authors of the article “ridiculous”. In his Telegram channel, he suggested that behind the “smear campaign” could be his internal Russian enemies – “the people of Rublyovka”, representatives of a part of the Russian elites with whom Prigozhin came into conflict.
Last week, Prigozhin accused the Russian armed forces command of “leaking” positions around Bakhmut. Previously, he had repeatedly accused the Russian Ministry of Defense of not wanting to supply ammunition to the Wagner PMC forces stationed in the Bakhmut region. Ukrainian military intelligence, Kirill Budanov, in Africa, as reported in the Washington Post article. According to Prigozhin, he has not been to the African continent since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the WP article a “hoax”.
The White House declined to comment on The Washington Post, which claims that Prigozhin, who has become one of the most vocal opponents of the Russian Defense Ministry due to the regular army’s inaction towards Bakhmut, has decided to use “contacts in the army”. intelligence department of Ukraine.”
Washington Post reporters refer to unnamed sources within the Ukrainian government, who confirmed that Prigozhin communicated with Ukrainian military intelligence.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an interview with WP this month, did not confirm reports of special service contacts with Prigozhin, saying this issue is “under the jurisdiction of military intelligence.” The Ukrainian leader also objected to the publication of the article in the Washington Post, saying that only Russia would benefit from the public disclosure of classified information.
Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), declined to comment on the WP post, appearing on Ukrainian television on Monday, saying, “Who benefits from discussing such initiatives? NOW ?
A spokesman for Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Agency did not respond to a CNN reporter’s request for comment, saying “he has nothing to add to Yusov’s comments.”
On Monday, Prigozhin issued another angry accusation against the Russian Defense Ministry on Monday for negligence. For several months, the leader of the Russian mercenaries has accused the Russian Ministry of Defense of having sabotaged his actions on the Bakhmut front.
Last week he accused members of Russia’s 72nd military brigade of “just running away” from the front line in Bakhmut, allowing Ukraine to regain control of its territory.
Shortly after Prigozhin’s Telegram channel was posted, the Ukrainian commander of the battalion involved in the UAF attack on Russian positions near Bakhmut told CNN that the first Russians to leave the area were in fact mercenaries from Wagner PMC.
Kiev says UAF forces are carrying out “effective counterattacks” in the Bakhmut region, in line with Prigozhin’s remarks that Kiev has recaptured part of Russian-occupied territory.
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