Wagner PMC announced the beginning of withdrawal from Bakhmut

The head of Wagner PMC reported that Russian mercenaries are starting to leave the city of Bakhmut.

Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed that by June 1, all his units would be withdrawn from the city to the rear for rest.

According to him, the positions left by Wagner PMC mercenaries should be transferred to the military of the regular Russian military.

He also informed that a “new assignment” for the Russian mercenaries will be determined.

“We are withdrawing units from Bakhmut. By June 1, the main part will be relocated to military camps. We pass positions to the military. Ammunition, positions, everything, including dry rations…” Prigozhin said.

It should be noted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine previously stated that the Wagner Group in Bakhmut was almost destroyed, which is why Russian mercenaries want to leave the destroyed city, which can be surrounded by Ukrainian forces.

Serhii Cherevaty, Spokesman for Ukraine’s Eastern Group of Forces, stated this in a commentary for Free Radio, speaking on Prigozhin’s statement about the complete capture of Bakhmut.

“We actually defeated his (Prygozhin’s – Ed.) very powerful grouping of troops. It is close to destruction. You understand that he says that he will withdraw his troops, and he captured Bakhmut. That’s the only reason he said it. “The guy said, and the guy did,” and then do whatever you want – just let me go. He ran away like a whipped dog because he lost his best military personnel,” Cherevaty said.

According to US President Joe Biden, Russia lost about 100,000 personnel in the battles for the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region.

At the end of January, the U.S. Department of State and the United States Department of Treasury recognized the Russian Wagner PMC military formation as a transnational criminal organization. Additional sanctions against the group were imposed.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine recognized Wagner PMC as an international criminal organization.

Ukrainian prosecutors and their American counterparts are exploring the possibility of seizing the Wagner assets to deprive the organization of resources to fund military actions in Ukraine.