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☆ Ukraine says Moscow deploying Wagner fighters to Bakhmut from elsewhere
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, May 5 (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Friday Russia was bringing Wagner mercenary fighters from other parts of the front line to fight in Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, and that Moscow wanted to capture the city in time for Victory Day celebrations next week. Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said his mercenary forces would pull out of Bakhmut on May 10 because of heavy losses and inadequate ammunition supplies. "We are now seeing them pulling (fighters) from the entire offensive line where the Wagner fighters were, they are pulling (them) to the Bakhmut direction," Maliar said in televised comments. Prigozhin's Wagner mercenaries have spearheaded Russia's months-long assault on Bakhmut in the industrial Donbas region. He has regularly accused Russia's military top brass of incompetence.

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Wagner Group threatens to exit Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WAGNER* Standing in a field of corpses, Russian Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin published an expletive-ridden video personally blaming top defence chiefs for losses suffered by his fighters. * However, Ukraine said Russia was bringing Wagner fighters from other parts of the front line to fight in Bakhmut. * Former Russian deputy defence minister Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev has joined the Wagner Group as a deputy commander, Russian pro-war social media channels reported. * Technical personnel from Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, and the United Nations will meet on Friday to discuss the renewal of the deal, the Turkish Defence Minister said. QUOTES* "Because of the lack of ammunition, our losses are increasing exponentially every day," Wagner Group mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said.

☆ Surrounded by corpses, Wagner's Prigozhin blasts Russian defence minister in expletive-laden video
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 5 (Reuters) - Standing in a field of corpses, Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin on Friday published an expletive-ridden video personally blaming top defence chiefs for losses suffered by his Wagner Group fighters in Ukraine. Prigozhin appeared next to dozens of bloodied corpses that he said were those of Wagner fighters. His expletives were bleeped out in the video published by his press service. Those responsible would go to hell, Prigozhin shouted, before saying that Wagner's losses would be five times smaller if it was adequately supplied. In recently weeks, Prigozhin had refrained from public attacks on Shoigu, even as he continued to suggest that deliberate ammunition shortages had exacerbated Wagner casualty figures.

☆ Russian Mercenary Leader Threatens to Pull Forces From Bakhmut Next Week
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Neil Macfarquhar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

“These are Wagner guys who died today; the blood is still fresh,” Mr. Prigozhin said, in a speech marked by frequent bleeped-out expletives. The Wagner chief has long criticized Russian military leadership openly, with some analysts attributing the tensions to rivalries for President Vladimir V. Putin’s favor. Mr. Prigozhin has never pointed a finger directly at Mr. Putin over Russia’s setbacks in the war. In February, Mr. Prigozhin accused Mr. Shoigu and General Gerasimov of treason, claiming they were starving Wagner of ammunition. The problem for Wagner was not a lack of ammunition, Mr. Cherevaty said, but a shortage of people to fight and die.

☆ Wagner Leader Threatens to Pull Out of Bakhmut: Russia-Ukraine War Live News
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Matt Surman | Ivan Nechepurenko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

It also highlights Russian frustration at failing to complete the capture of Bakhmut after more than nine months of costly, intense battle. ANGRY TIRADEWhat looked real, however, was Prigozhin's fury at Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov. "If Putin wants him to be in combat, he'll force him in one way or another to do so." Marten said its involvement in the battle for Bakhmut, including fighters recruited from Russian prisons, had allowed Putin to avoid declaring a full-scale mobilization. Whatever its immediate intentions around Bakhmut, Wagner is likely to remain a significant player in the war, given Prigozhin's personal ambitions and determination to stay in the limelight.

"If, because of your petty jealousy, you do not want to give the Russian people the victory of taking Bakhmut, that's your problem," Prigozhin added in the video. A senior Ukrainian official said Russia was bringing Wagner mercenary fighters from along the front line to Bakhmut to capture it by Victory Day. In another sign of disarray on the Russian side, former Russian deputy defence minister Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev joined Wagner as a deputy commander, Russian pro-war social media channels reported. Earlier, Prigozhin was pictured surrounded by corpses he said were his men, shouting abuse at Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov. Moscow accused Ukraine of firing drones at the Kremlin in the early hours of Wednesday in an attempt to kill Putin.

☆ Ukraine's risky gamble in Bakhmut may be paying off as infighting in Russia's ranks threatens its hopes of capturing the city, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Jake Epstein | Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The battle has hurt Russian forces, and Wagner Group mercenaries are threatening to pull out. Wagner's withdrawal, however, suggests that Ukraine's risky decision to stay may be paying off, Russia experts told Insider. Ukrainian army snipers change their position facing Russian troops near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 2, 2023. Russian forces, including Wagner mercenaries, steadily surrounded Ukrainian positions, leaving only one road out of the city. Ukrainian army Grad multiple rocket launcher fires rockets at Russian positions in the frontline near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 3, 2023.

☆ After Years in the Shadows, Prigozhin Becomes a Player in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Anton Troianovski | Ben Shpigel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Yevgeny V. Prigozhin quietly profited from his personal ties to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, winning lucrative catering and construction contracts with the Russian government while building a mercenary force known as Wagner. After throwing his fighters into Ukraine, their ranks swelled with prisoner recruits, Mr. Prigozhin emerged as a public power player, using social media to turn tough talk and brutality into his personal brand. In a scorching video posted Friday on social media, Mr. Prigozhin threatened to pull his fighters next week out of Bakhmut, the embattled city where he has thrown thousands of convicts into the maw of Ukraine’s defenses, taking extraordinary casualties in a stubborn effort to wear down the other side. Citing a lack of ammunition, Mr. Prigozhin delivered the ultimatum after walking among rows of bodies that he claimed were Wagner fighters killed in the battle for Bakhmut. He called out Russia’s defense minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, and Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov, the chief of the military general staff, as responsible for their deaths.

"I'm pulling Wagner units out of Bakhmut because in the absence of ammunition they're doomed to perish senselessly." But Ukrainian defenders have held out, and Prigozhin has vented increasing anger at what he describes as lack of support from the Russian defence establishment. "My lads will not suffer useless and unjustified losses in Bakhmut without ammunition," Prigozhin added in the video. "If, because of your petty jealousy, you do not want to give the Russian people the victory of taking Bakhmut, that's your problem." The statement also asked Russia's Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov to replace Wagner forces in Bakhmut with Russian troops.

☆ Russia's Wagner boss escalates rift with Putin's military, threatens Bakhmut withdrawal due to a lack of thousands of artillery shells
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Yevgeny Prigozhin threatened to withdraw Wagner Group fighters from Bakhmut over shell shortages. He issued an ultimatum to Russia's defense minister and gave him 24 hours to respond. Prigozhin issued an ultimatum to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu over ammunition shortages in an interview with Russian military blogger Semyon Pegov published Saturday. Prigozhin warned that if Shoigu does not respond to his requests for more ammunition, Wagner fighters will withdraw from Bakhmut. He issued the deadline on April 27 and said the defense minister had 24 hours to reply, which has now passed.

☆ Alleged former Wagner fighters claim they killed young children in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Two men claiming to be ex-Wagner fighters have made harrowing claims about their actions in Ukraine. The men claim they killed dozens of children, civilians, and some of their comrades. The group is known to recruit from Russian prisons, offering inmates freedom once they complete six months of fighting in Ukraine. Savichev said that Wagner fighters were ordered to "execute any men who were 15 years or older" and were told when sweeping houses to ensure all civilians found were killed, CNN reported. Ukrainian prosecutors have started to investigate the Wagner fighters' testimonies.

Azamat Uldarov, a former convict, made his retraction in a video call with Russian news agency RIA-FAN. I had to say it because I had no choice.”“I said whatever I was told to say,” Uldarov then said. Osechkin also claimed that both interviewees, Uldarov and Savichev, had been threatened with murder if they didn’t retract their statements to him. Savichev told Gulagu that his unit was ordered to kill any men 15 years old or older. Wagner has been seeking Savichev for the past 24 hours, according to Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin.

☆ Russia says Wagner fighters take two more blocks in battered Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 16 (Reuters) - Russia said on Sunday that Wagner mercenary units supported by airborne troops had captured two more city blocks in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, target of a major offensive by Moscow. Wagner has spearheaded Russia's attempt to take Bakhmut since last summer in what has been the longest and deadliest battle of the war for both sides. Russia's defence ministry said Wagner assault squads had taken two blocks in the northwestern and southeastern parts of Bakhmut, which has largely been destroyed in the fighting. Russian army paratroop units were supporting Wagner by holding back Ukrainian forces on the flanks, it added. Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for Ukraine's eastern military command, said Wagner troops were acting as a battering ram and attacking dozens of times a day.

☆ Russia says Wagner fighters seize two more parts of Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Smoke is seen in this drone footage of Bakhmut amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in this screen grab obtained from a handout video released on April 15, 2023. Adam Tactic Group/Handout via REUTERSMOSCOW, April 15 (Reuters) - Fighters of Russia's Wagner mercenary group have captured two more areas of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, Russia's Defence Ministry said on Saturday. "Wagner assault units successfully advanced, capturing two areas on the northern and southern outskirts of the city," it said. The statement said Russian army paratroop units were supporting the claimed advance by holding back Ukrainian forces on the flanks. Wagner has spearheaded Russia's attempt to take Bakhmut since last summer in what has been the longest and deadliest battle of the war for both sides.

CNN —A fresh leak of classified US intelligence documents suggests broad infighting between Russian officials, including some within the Federal Security Service (FSB) and Defense Ministry, the New York Times reported Thursday. The NYT report says the documents detail US monitoring of Russian intelligence and apparatus and military command. The Kremlin said it doubts the “reliability” of reports of broad infighting between Russian officials, in response to a CNN question about the NYT article. A litany of highly classified documents leaked online related to the Pentagon, pictured in Arlington, Virginia on April 6, 2023, has rattled US officials. The Pentagon has also stood up an “interagency effort” to assess the impact of the leak, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said Sunday, while the Department of Justice opened an investigation into the leaks last week.

Two videos emerged on social media this past week that appear to show beheadings of Ukrainian soldiers. The first video was posted to a pro-Russian social media channel on April 8. In the video, a voice can be heard, behind the camera, the sound seemingly distorted to prevent the speaker’s identification. Apparently referring to the bodies on the ground, the voice, laughing, continues, “They killed them. Some pro-Russian social media accounts have suggested Ukrainian forces were responsible for the beheadings in an effort to conceal identification.

☆ Russia's Wagner claims it controls most of Bakhmut; Kyiv says forces holding firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Yulia Morozova/File PhotoApril 11 (Reuters) - The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group on Tuesday said his forces controlled more than 80% of the devastated eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut after some of war's heaviest and bloodiest fighting. Senior Ukrainian military officials did not address the claims directly, but said their forces were holding firm against fierce attacks in what once was a city of 70,000 and keeping Russian forces in check. The Russian-installed head of Donetsk region, one of four areas declared annexed by Moscow last September, said Russian forces had backed Ukrainian defenders into a corner. But Russian forces, she said, "are generally losing to us in street battles so they are simply destroying all buildings and structures". Russian forces have made only incremental gains in their advance through eastern Ukraine.

☆ Wagner Group mercenaries are getting a lot more help from Russia's military than Prigozhin would like you to think
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of Russia's Wagner Group, has been highly visible during the war in Ukraine. Prigozhin frequently casts his mercenary group as fighting on its own, without Russian military support. Indeed, Prigozhin has claimed over the past few months that Russia's military — the real military — is sabotaging Wagner's efforts. But Wagner is actually working closely with Russia's regular forces, which are supporting Wagner's fighters, according to a US expert on the Russian military. Misha Japaridze/Pool/ReutersThe dispute between Prigozhin and Russian military leaders was widely cast as a struggle between power centers seeking influence with the Kremlin.

☆ Ukrainian troops say Russia's Wagner fighters would rather die in Bakhmut than retreat and face punishment
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ukrainian soldiers fighting in Bakhmut say Wagner troops are the toughest opponents, NYT reported. One soldier said Wagner units face punishment if they retreat, so they "prefer to die" in battle. Wagner units have played a major role in Bakhmut battles. But that assessment isn't necessarily due to Wagner's training — Ukrainian troops told The New York Times that Wagner troops fight harder because they face physical punishments if they retreat or lose. Milley said that Wagner units have taken heavy losses in Bakhmut over the past month, CNN reported.

☆ A convicted kidnapper who fought for Wagner in Ukraine said it was 'utter hell' and he saw fellow fighters 'cry' and 'vomit' as fear took over in the trenches
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An ex-convict who fought for Wagner in Ukraine said the front line was "utter hell," Reuters reported. Wagner recruited thousands of convicts to help address Russia's manpower issues in the war. In the face of these personnel problems, Russia turned to the infamous Wagner mercenary group for help. Wagner recruited thousands of prisoners for the fight, promising them pardons in exchange for their service. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group, argued in a statement to Reuters that Wagner was "probably the most experienced army that exists in the world today."

☆ Video appears to show Russian Wagner troops shooting their own comrade, shoving each other into enemy fire in chaotic trench battle
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A video from Ukraine shows a chaotic trench battle in the contested city of Bakhmut. A Ukrainian official said it showed Ukraine reclaiming territory from Russia's Wagner mercenaries. Gerashchenko quoted a soldier who sent him the video, saying it shows Ukrainian soldiers retaking a trench from Russian forces. Wagner group soldiers have been particularly involved in the battle for Bakhmut. The Wagner group took on a growing role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine as the country's army struggled to take over the country.

As forces from Russian paramilitary group Wagner fight to expel Ukrainian troops from the eastern city of Bakhmut, the group’s founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin , faces a defining moment. Mr. Prigozhin’s star rose as Wagner fighters gained ground in the war on Ukraine. He was allowed to recruit convicts from Russia’s vast prison system and was supplied with weapons by the government. This gave him a 50,000-strong fighting force and a new, heavily armed power base.

☆ Wagner Group mercenaries are being butchered in Ukraine, but US intel expects them to keep stirring up trouble elsewhere on Russia's behalf
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The notorious Wagner Group has operated around the world on Russia's behalf for years. For years, the Wagner Group has put boots on the ground in countries across Africa and the Middle East. A pedestrian walks past a mural depicting the logo of the Russian mercenary 'Group Wagner' and a slogan in Russian on January 20, 2023 in Belgrade, Serbia. Graves of Russian Wagner mercenary group fighters are seen in a cemetery near the village of Bakinskaya in Krasnodar region, Russia, January 22, 2023. Like Russia's regular military, Wagner has endured heavy losses on the battlefield.

☆ Russia close to encircling Ukraine's Bakhmut after months of fighting
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

This video grab taken from a shooting by AFPTV shows an aerial view of destructions in the city of Bakhmut on February 27, 2023. - Ukraine said on February 28, 2023 its forces were under pressure in Bakhmut, a nearly-destroyed city in the eastern Donetsk region that Russia has been trying to seize for months. One fighter is heard saying Ukraine's army is destroying infrastructure in settlements near Bakhmut to prevent the Russian encirclement. The commander of Ukraine's ground forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, visited Bakhmut on Friday for briefings with local commanders on how to boost the defense capacity of frontline forces. Ukraine says the city has little strategic value and the huge casualties Russia has suffered trying to take Bakhmut could shape the course of the conflict.

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