MADRID, May 27th. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The spokesman for the Eastern Group of Armed Forces of Ukraine Serhi Cherevati claimed on Friday that the withdrawal of Wagner Group mercenaries from their positions in Bakhmut represented a “latent surrender” by Russia in the battle.
For Cherevati, the announcement by the leader of the mercenary organization, Yevgeny Prigozhin, represents a kind of surrender by Russia, which has seen how differences between Wagner and the Defense Ministry could threaten control of Bakhmut.
For the military spokesman, Prigozhin has withdrawn his troops from Bakhmut, control of which has already been ascribed to Russia, in order to maintain his mercenary army, as Ukraine’s counter-offensive could end the organization’s existence.
On the other hand, the British Ministry of Defense has confirmed that Wagner has “probably” started withdrawing his troops, but stressed that this does not mean that they are giving up their participation in the war, but that they are awaiting new orders from part of Moscow.
For example, London has confirmed that Russian army troops have begun gradually taking control of Bakhmut, while Wagner’s mercenaries are withdrawing “despite the hostility” between Prigozhin and the Russian military leadership.
“Wagner’s forces are likely to be used for further offensive operations in the Donbass after the reconstitution of their armed forces,” the British Ministry of Defense has decided, according to the news channel Sky News.
The Wagner Group, whose mercenaries are fighting in Ukraine in support of Russian forces, began moving troops in the city of Bakhmut in the middle of the week, the company and Ukrainian authorities have confirmed.
Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Hanna Maliar reported back then that the “enemy” replaced Wagner’s troops with soldiers in the suburbs of Bakhmut. Instead, Maliar said, the mercenaries would stay in that city, a strategic and symbolic enclave in the Donetsk region.
Prigozhin had repeatedly threatened to withdraw from Bakhmut after criticizing Moscow for lack of ammunition. However, in recent weeks he has softened the tone of his messages, which were mostly aimed at Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and senior military commanders.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last weekend that Russian forces and their allies were already in full control of Bakhmut, a point his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy declined to confirm, claiming they still controlled some areas. Kiev has also speculated that a counter-offensive is imminent.