Bakhmut: Prigozhin wants to hand over positions to Kadyrov

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The head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has asked the Kremlin to hand over its positions in the hard-fought Ukrainian city of Bakhmut to the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and his troupe “Achmat” – and thereby accept his transfer offer.

In a letter to the Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu published by his press service, the Wagner boss demanded “by May 10 at 00:00 an order for the transfer of the positions (…) from Wagner in Bakhmut and the surrounding area to the units of the Achmat battalions”.

Kadyrov had previously offered to send his own “Achmat” troops to the embattled city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine should the Wagner troops withdraw from the town, as recently threatened. His fighters are ready to go ahead and conquer the city. “It’s just a matter of hours,” Kadyrov claimed on Telegram.
Russia is also using units from Chechnya in the war of aggression against Ukraine. They formally belong to the police and national guard, but in practice they primarily follow Kadyrov’s command. Kadyrov pointed out that his fighters had already fought alongside Wagner troops in the Russian-held Ukrainian cities of Popasna, Severodonetsk and Lysychansk.

More on the battles among Russia’s mercenary troops:

The head of the Wagner mercenaries Prigozhin threatens to withdraw his fighters from Bakhmut. He blames the Russian army leadership for the lack of ammunition deliveries.

06.05.2023 | 02:28 min

Russia’s army, which has been fighting in the Bakhmut region together with the Wagner troops in extremely costly battles, has not commented on Prigozhin’s threats and accusations. The Ministry of Defense had already remained silent on the subject on Friday. Instead, the authority announced – without explicit reference to Prigozhin – that Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had ordered arms deliveries to the combat zone to be kept under “special control”.

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