Prigozhin fears cauldrons
Kiev reports “effective counterattacks” at Bakhmut
05/10/2023 8:54 p.m
Russia actually wanted to have taken Bakhmut by May 9th. So far, however, the Kremlin troops have been unsuccessful. It even turned out differently: Kiev now announces that it has pushed Moscow’s units far back. Meanwhile, Wagner boss Prigozchin is worried.
According to its own statements, the Ukrainian army pushed back the Russian troops in some places near Bakhmut by up to two kilometers. “We are conducting effective counterattacks there,” Ukrainian army commander Olexander Syrskyj said on Telegram in the evening. On some front sections of the city, which has been heavily fought over for months, the Russian troops have retreated by up to two kilometers.
According to Syrskyj’s description, the units of the Russian mercenary troop Wagner deployed at Bakhmut have been replaced in some sections by regular Russian army units. These less well-trained units have now been defeated, said Syrskyj. However: “The battle for Bachmut continues.” The information provided by the Ukrainian military about their successes could not initially be independently verified.
Meanwhile, the head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner fears that his unit will be encircled in the battle for Bakhmut. “Given the lack of ammunition, the ‘meat grinder’ now threatens to turn in the opposite direction,” Yevgeny Prigozhin wrote on Telegram in the evening. Due to high losses, Wagner had to leave flank protection to regular units of the Russian army, which were pushed back. “There is now a serious danger of Wagner being encircled by the collapse of the flanks,” wrote Prigozhin. “And the flanks are already cracked and crumbling.” According to Prigozhin, Bakhmut has “no strategic value”.
The city has been the focus of fighting on the eastern front in Ukraine for months. After several setbacks, the capture of Bakhmut for the Russian forces would be primarily a symbolic success. The Ukrainian military, meanwhile, is preparing a widely anticipated counter-offensive to liberate Russian-held areas in the south and east.