Stop lying over Bakhmut retreat, Wagner boss tells Kremlin

Mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has accused Russian army units of ‘fleeing’ their positions, even as Moscow insisted there had been no Ukrainian breakthrough.

The leader of Russia’s Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has released furious videos venting his anger over the state of the invasion. Picture: Getty Images

The mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has accused Russian army units of “fleeing” their positions around the battleground city of Bakhmut, even as Moscow insisted there had been no Ukrainian breakthrough.

“This is not called regrouping, this is fleeing,” Prigozhin said in an audio statement on social media, after the Russian defence ministry claimed that it was redeploying troops to establish stronger defensive positions.

Defence ministry units “simply went fleeing” from positions around the north and south of the city, Prigozhin, said in a separate video address.

“The flanks are failing. The front is collapsing,” said the businessman, also known as Putin’s Chef for his company’s Kremlin catering contracts.

He added: “Attempts by the defence ministry in the information field to sugarcoat the situation – it’s leading and will lead to a global tragedy for Russia. For this reason we must stop lying immediately.”

Ukraine had earlier said it had taken a stretch of land near Bakhmut and was on the advance, amid speculation that this was the beginning of its much- heralded counter-offensive. Hanna Maliar, the Ukrainian deputy defence minister, said his country’s forces had pushed back Russian forces 1.2 miles around the city.

Prigozhin said Russian troops were forced to give up tactical heights and positions near a reservoir.

Moscow claimed to have repulsed attacks on a 60-mile (97km) front near the city, and said the situation was “under control”. The Russian defence ministry denied bloggers’ reports that Ukrainian forces had broken through at points. It said its forces were “continuing to liberate the western parts” of Bakhmut.

A Chinese envoy will visit Ukraine and Russia next week as Beijing steps up efforts to broker a political settlement to the war. Beginning on Monday, Li Hui, special representative of the Chinese government for Eurasian Affairs, will also visit Poland, France and Germany.

The tour demonstrates China’s “commitment to promoting peace and talks”, said Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry. Li’s task would be to “communicate with all parties on the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis”, Wang said.

“China is willing to continue to play a constructive role in building more international consensus on the ceasefire, the cessation of war, the opening of peace talks, and the avoidance of escalation of the situation,” he added.

China published a 12-point peace proposal in February calling for talks and respect for national sovereignty, but does not demand that Russian forces leave occupied territory in Ukraine.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia met President Xi Jinping in March and said the plan could form the “basis” of a settlement, but he did not believe that Ukraine or the West was ready for one.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine spoke to Xi for an hour on April 26, the first time the two leaders had talked since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year. After the call, Zelensky described it as an “opportunity to use China’s political influence to restore the strength of the principles and rules on which peace should be based”.

Zelensky had earlier expressed readiness to discuss the peace initiative with Xi but the absence of a call for a Russian withdrawal is likely to be a significant stumbling block for Kyiv.

Western countries view Xi’s initiative with scepticism as Beijing is deepening political and economic ties with Moscow. The White House said in March that it opposed Chinese calls for a ceasefire in Ukraine because they would only hand Moscow time to prepare a new offensive.

The Times