The head of the Wagner non-public army group on Monday rejected a report that he had supplied to share with Ukraine the positioning of Russian Army troops round Bakhmut in change for a withdrawal of Kyiv’s forces from the realm in jap Ukraine.
The Wagner group has been a driving pressure behind Russia’s monthslong battle to take Bakhmut, which has price 1000’s of lives on either side and decreased a lot of town to rubble. Its founder, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, has publicly clashed with Russia’s army management over the struggle for town, accusing them of ravenous his forces of ammunition.
The Washington Post reported on Sunday {that a} U.S. intelligence doc leaked on the messaging platform Discord mentioned that Mr. Prigozhin informed contacts in Ukraine’s army intelligence directorate that he was keen to betray the Russian military’s areas round Bakhmut if Kyiv agreed to withdraw from round Bakhmut. A Ukrainian official informed The Post that Mr. Prigozhin’s provide — made “more than once” — had been rejected.
In an audio assertion printed on Monday by his press service, Mr. Prigozhin known as the report “speculation” and a “hoax.” He prompt that Russia’s corrupt elites, who he mentioned envied his fighters’ achievements on the entrance strains in Ukraine and had been desperate to tank his popularity, could possibly be accountable.
Mr. Prigozhin’s mercenaries have taken lead in making an attempt to seize Bakhmut, the location of the longest and one of many bloodiest battles of the conflict, whereas Russian troops have managed the realm across the metropolis’s flanks. Over the previous couple of weeks, Mr. Prigozhin has stepped up his accusations of incompetence in opposition to the Russian army management.
Despite brazenly feuding with high Russian officers, Mr. Prigozhin has been cautious to not criticize President Vladimir V. Putin.
Dmitri S. Peskov, the spokesman for Mr. Putin, mentioned that he wouldn’t touch upon The Post’s report, however mentioned that “it looks like another hoax.”
Source: www.nytimes.com