Ukraine has revealed that its troops killed dozens of Russian Wagner mercenaries as they attempted to withdraw from the embattled city of Bakhmut.
About 80 Wagner fighters were killed and another 119 wounded after Ukrainian troops attacked their positions as they retreated from the eastern city, a Ukrainian military spokesman said.
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin announced last week that his mercenaries were withdrawing from Bakhmut and being replaced by Russian paratroopers and motorized units after admitting 20,000 of his troops had been killed fighting for the city.
The battle for Bakhmut has raged for nearly a year, razing the industrial center and wiping out waves of Wagner recruits who led the charge.
And Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesman for the Eastern Group of Ukrainian Armed Forces, has revealed that 80 Wagner fighters were killed by Ukrainian forces as they retreated from the city.
Ukraine has revealed that its troops killed dozens of Russian Wagner mercenaries as they attempted to withdraw from the embattled city of Bakhmut. Pictured: Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin with Wagner mercenaries in Bakhmut on May 20
Ukrainian military personnel ride in a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle Bushmaster near the city of Bakhmut on May 30
Cherevatyi told News Outlet Ukrainian form: ‘Over the past few days we have seen a significant decrease in fighting, there were 2-3 clashes. This day there were none at all.
“The enemy continues to rotate, withdrawing the ‘Wagner’ group and replacing it with airborne and motorized infantry units.”
He said Wagner’s withdrawal from Bakhmut “has a depressing effect on those who take their place.”
“They have fought a lot themselves, this is the second or third group to come in, plus they see the condition of the Wagner mercenary criminals.”
Cherevatyi said the Ukrainian army was engaged in “a reorganization and other military steps … so that further movements can be even more successful in terms of hitting the enemy.”
Wagner’s Russian private army this week began handing over positions to regular troops after declaring full control of Bakhmut after the war’s longest and bloodiest battle.
“We are withdrawing units from Bakhmut today. We are handing over positions to the army, ammunition and everything,” Prigozhin said in a video on Thursday.
“We withdraw, we rest, we prepare, and then we get new tasks,” Prigozhin told his troops at the front.
Prigozhin is backing down after largely achieving his goals of wrestling Bakhmut out of Ukrainian control – but Kiev has refused to acknowledge that the city is completely lost.
But its success has come at a high cost. Earlier this week, the Wagner boss admitted that about 20,000 of his troops had been killed in the battle for Bakhmut, of which about 10,000 had been recruited from Russian prisons.
A Ukrainian soldier covers his ears as he fires a mortar at Russian frontline positions near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on May 29.
Yevgeny Prigozhin announced last week that he was withdrawing his troops from Bakhmut and handing over their positions to regular Russian troops
The numbers are a result of the group’s dirty WWI-style human wave tactics, using recruits as cannon fodder to absorb Ukrainian bullets and artillery fire.
Not only were Wagner battalions sent to the battlefield with little to no training and expected to cover ground under heavy artillery fire, but they were forced to do so with little support from the Russian regular army.
Prigozhin accused Moscow’s army units of desertion and withdrawal on several occasions, exposing Wagner men at key choke points.
Yesterday, the Wagner chief unleashed an explosive tirade of invective against Vladimir Putin’s cronies after Moscow was attacked by suspected Ukrainian kamikaze drones yesterday morning.
In a furious 70-second diatribe, Prigozhin shouted vulgar insults at Russia’s defense, describing them as “stinking bastards” and “b******.”
The Wagner boss said he was “deeply outraged” by Putin’s troops doing “f*** all” to prevent explosive drones from dropping on the Russian capital this morning. Soon after, Putin claimed that Moscow’s air defense system was operating “satisfactorily.”
Known for his foul-mouthed tirades, Prigozhin, who handed Bakhmut over to the Russian army last week, was translated as yelling, “Smelly bastards! What are you doing? Come out of the offices where you have been posted to protect this country.
“You are the Ministry of Defense. You’ve done f*** all to move on. Why the fuck are you flying these drones to Moscow? Who cares that they fly to your houses on Rublyovka! Let your houses burn.’
And what are ordinary people supposed to do when drones with explosives crash into their windows? So as a citizen I am deeply outraged that these scum sit quietly with their fat asses smeared with expensive creams.
“And that’s why I think people have every right to ask them these questions, this b******.
“But I have warned many times about this, but no one will listen. Because I’m angry and I’ve upset bureaucrats who have great lives.”
Its astonishing collapse comes after several buildings in Moscow’s affluent suburbs were damaged by suspected Ukrainian kamikaze drones just hours after Putin unleashed another volley of attacks on Kiev.
Meanwhile, Kiev signaled over the weekend that its troops were ready to launch a long-promised counter-offensive to recapture territory Russia had taken in the 15 months of the war.
“Kiev has seen several vicious invaders throughout history. It has outlived them all, and it will outlive the (Russians),” Zelenskiy said on Sunday.