Their boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is threatening to pull out of the heavily contested city of Pakmut in eastern Ukraine amid a dispute with Moscow over ammunition supplies for the Wagner mercenary group. After some time, the Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov offered to send his own unit “Ahmed” to Pakmut if Prigozhin and his people left the village.
Prigogine had announced that his mercenaries would be withdrawn next Wednesday. The 61-year-old directly attacked the military leadership, citing heavy losses due to the lack of artillery support of the Russian armed forces. In two videos, Prigozhin addressed Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu directly and, shocked, demanded new ammunition. (Read about: Why does Prigozhin threaten to withdraw his forces from Bagmut?)
The Ukrainian military initially saw no signs of Wagner’s mercenaries leaving Bagmut anytime soon. The Ukrainian army has no shortage of ammunition among the Russians. The real background to Prigogine’s statements was the 100 and more deaths a day by mercenary troops.
According to Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar, the Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed several ammunition depots of Wagner’s troops with artillery fire near Baghmut. The information could not be independently verified.
The Russian occupiers announced a partial evacuation of areas near the front
Russia’s occupation force wants to evacuate areas near the front in Zaporizhia, southern Ukraine. Among others, the town of Enerhodar, where the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is located, is to be evacuated.
In addition, residents of the cities of Dogmak and Bolokhi, as well as the large settlements of Kamjanga and Rosivka, will have to pack their bags. The towns are 40 kilometers behind the current front line. However, a Ukrainian counterattack is expected in the near future. A military advance in Zaporizhia towards the coast of the Sea of Azov is a possibility.
Russia Sanctions: EU Commission Submits New Proposals
In the fight against evasion of sanctions against Russia, EU exports to third countries should also be restricted in the future. As the German Press Agency learned from EU sources on Friday, this is the European Commission’s proposal for the eleventh set of punitive measures for the war against Ukraine. It was sent to member states on Friday.
According to the information, it is planned to create a legal possibility to restrict exports to third countries due to alleged violations of sanctions. If this is not enough, some exports may actually be blocked in the second phase.
That will be important on Saturday
Fierce fighting continues in eastern Ukraine. The focus is still on Bachmut: the defenders don’t want to give up the largely destroyed city, although their forces only hold a small portion of the city’s territory.
Ukrainian soldiers place their flag over the coffin of an American soldier who was killed in Pakmut and volunteered for the International Legion.
Photo: Sergey Shubinsky (AFP)
According to the Ukrainian military leadership, Russian troops are trying to fully capture Pakmut by May 9. For Moscow, it would be a glorious victory over Nazi Germany on Victory Day. The surrender, which actually took effect on May 8, 1945, was signed a second time at Soviet headquarters on the night of May 9 at Stalin’s request, so the day is considered a public holiday in Russia. (SDA)
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