Head of Wagner group says battle for Bakhmut 'almost destroyed Ukrainian army'

MOSCOW

Head of the Wagner mercenary force claimed on Wednesday that battle for Ukraine's frontline eastern city of Bakhmut "almost destroyed the Ukrainian army" and "battered" his group.

In a comment on Telegram, Evgeny Prigozhin said the battle for Bakhmut was planned by his commanders last summer and his fighters are steadily implementing it.

"The battle for Bakhmut today has almost destroyed the Ukrainian army and, unfortunately, has pretty much battered the Wagner PMC," he said.

Prigozhin said his fighters "are destroying foreign forces" that are trying "bring Russia to its knees," and winning the battle will be "a great turn in the war."

Russian forces have been trying for months to capture Bakhmut, a transport and logistics hub in Ukraine’s Donetsk, which is part of the largely Russian-speaking industrialized Donbas region.