Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner boss, said Ukrainian forces had retaken part of the village of Berkhivka north of the city of Bakhmut, calling it a "disgrace".
"Now part of the village of Berkhivka has been lost, the army is quietly fleeing. It's a disgrace!", Prigozhin, head of the Russian private security group Wagner, said in the recording released today.
Berkhivka is about 3 km north of Bakhmut. Russia has controlled the village of Berkhivka since late February.
Prigozhin also urged Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov to go to the front line to strengthen the troops' morale.
“Well, you can do it!” said Wagner. “And if you can’t, you’ll go out as heroes.”
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin in the city of Paraskoviivka, Donetsk province, eastern Ukraine in March. Photo: Reuters
Prigozhin repeatedly attacked Minister Shoigu and General Gerasimov, often accusing them of failing to provide enough ammunition and support for Wagner on the battlefield, causing the force to suffer unnecessary heavy losses.
Earlier in the day, Ukrainian Army Commander Oleksandr Syrsky said his country's forces were still advancing near the city of Bakhmut. General Syrsky did not provide details, but said Ukrainian units had "destroyed a Russian position" on the outskirts.
Wagner declared full control of Bakhmut in late May and began handing over the position to regular troops, while Ukraine said it still controlled a small area on the outskirts of the city. Wagner forces completed their withdrawal from the city last week to make way for Chechen special forces.
Bakhmut covers an area of about 41.6 square kilometers and was home to more than 70,000 people before the war. After Russia launched the second phase of its campaign in Ukraine in April 2022, Bakhmut became the focus of fighting in Donetsk.
Ukrainian officials and military commanders have said defending Bakhmut is " militarily essential," and see the city as key to containing Russian forces in the Donbass region and preventing them from advancing further west.
It is unclear whether Russia will continue its westward push after Wagner withdraws from Bakhmut. Officials of the Russian-appointed Donetsk People's Republic have said they will rebuild Bakhmut and rename the city Artemovsk, its Soviet-era name.
Location of the city of Bakhmut. Graphics: RYV
Huyen Le (According to Reuters )
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