CNN —Fighters who had previously fought in Ukraine for the Russian mercenary group Wagner have returned to the battlefield in the east, according to the Ukrainian military.
Wagner mercenaries had withdrawn from the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut in May as they handed control of the area to Russia’s military.
“As of now, there are several hundred of them in our direction, on the Eastern Front, in different areas,” Cherevatyi told CNN.
“Wagner is here too,” a drone operator with call-sign “Groove” told CNN’s Fred Pleitgen on the ground in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday.
The Ukrainian general leading the southern counteroffensive, Oleksandr Tarnavsky, told CNN last week that Wagner fighters continue to pop up “here and there” on the frontlines.
Persons:
Wagner, Serhii Cherevatyi, ” Cherevatyi, “ Wagner, ”, CNN’s Fred Pleitgen, “, ” Mykhailo Podolyak, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Podolyak, Oleksandr Tarnavsky, that’s
Organizations:
CNN — Fighters, Communications, Ukrainian, Russian Ministry of Defense, CNN, Russian MoD, Wagner PMC
Locations:
Ukraine, Russian, Ukrainian, Bakhmut