Russia’s Wagner group says withdrawing from Bakhmut
Ukraine, which denies that Bakhmut has fallen to Russia, insists that it still controls a 'micro-district' of the ruined city
The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group said Thursday his troops started withdrawing from the flashpoint eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut and started transferring their positions to the Russian military.
Yevgeny Prigozhin said he began pulling out his fighters after claiming to have fully captured the destroyed city last week. But Ukraine, which denies that Bakhmut has fallen to Russia, insisted it still controlled a “micro-district” of the ruined city and said it was still advancing on the outskirts.
The battle for the city raged for nearly a year, leveling it and decimating waves of Wagner recruits who led Russia’s assault on the industrial hub.
"We are withdrawing units from Bakhmut today. We are handing over positions to the military, ammunition, and everything," Wagner boss Prigozhin said in a video. "We pull back, we rest, we prepare and then we will get new tasks.”
He noted that the withdrawal of his units began early on Thursday and that a handover of Wagner positions would continue until June 1.
Earlier this week, Prigozhin conceded that around 10,000 prisoners he recruited to fight in Ukraine were killed on the battlefield. The 61-year-old Kremlin ally toured Russian prisons last year to persuade inmates to fight.
Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for Ukraine's eastern military command, said the number of Russian attacks in the area had fallen in the last three days, and that there had been two military engagements in the last 24 hours, though shelling continued.
Meanwhile, Japan said it had scrambled fighter jets after detecting Russian "intelligence gathering" planes off its coastline, while Moscow announced China's special envoy would discuss Ukraine with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday.