The founder and head of the “Wagner” mercenary organization Yevgeny Prigozhin invited the Minister of Defense in a letter Sergei Shoigu to visit Bahamut to assess the situation on the spot.

In his letter, posted by the “Bagner” press service on its Telegram channel, he writes that “at the moment, the “Wagner” units control more than 95% of the city of Bahamut and continue the offensive for its complete liberation.” . At the same time he points out that “next to the sections of ‘Wagner’ where there are sections of the Russian army, the enemy carried out a series of successful counter-attacks”.

“Taking into account the difficult operational situation, as well as your many years of experience in conducting military operations, I am asking you to come to the area of ​​the city Bahamut and assess for yourself the situation that has developed”, writes Prigozhin in his letter which ends with the phrase “Thank you in advance, I count on your response”.

Earlier, Prigozhin accused the regular Russian army of “abandoning” its positions near Bakhmut, believing that this defense “will collapse”.

“There was simply an escape of (Russia’s) Defense Ministry units to the flanks” of Bakhmut that had been held for a short time by regular army units, Prigozhin said in a video posted on Telegram Ukrainian forces regained control of a reservoir in the north of this city, which is at the heart of the fighting, while they also occupied positions on heights overlooking the city.

According to Prigozhin, the Ukrainian soldiers recaptured the road that leads the Chasiv Yarfurther west, which had been blockaded by Russian soldiers for several weeks.

The claims of its head Wagner cannot be independently verified. However, Kiev announced this morning that it had recaptured an area of ​​about 2 kilometers around Bakhmut. At the same time, the Russian Defense Ministry assured that its forces repelled 26 Ukrainian attacks on a 95-kilometer front in the Soledar sector, north of Bakhmut. At the same time, he spoke of a “redeployment” of units north of Bakhmut, in the sector of the “Berkhivske reservoir”, a statement interpreted by observers as an admission of retreat.

“The efforts of the Ministry of Defense, in terms of information, to sweeten the situation, lead and will lead to tragedy for Russia. The lies must stop immediately,” Prigozhin said, warning that with the Ukrainian army advancing into the region, Wagner’s men could find themselves surrounded in Bakhmut. He also complained once again that he is not receiving enough ammunition for his men, while only about twenty buildings remain under Ukrainian control inside the city.