Russian military and Wagner private army jointly fight for Ukraine’s Bakhmut

By German Press Agency

MOSCOW, Russia – Russian troops and Wagner mercenaries are fighting together against Ukrainian defenders in the ongoing battle for Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, according to the Kremlin on Monday.

Russian assault units, including paratroopers, have taken two neighborhoods in the northwest and center of Bakhmut, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin confirmed the joint approach, saying regular troops were protecting the flanks of the private army in the fight against Ukrainian forces.

“The flanks are now the responsibility of the Defense Ministry,” Prigozhin said, after he had recently repeatedly criticized the ministry for doing too little to capture Bakhmut, which has been heavily contested for months.

Above all, the confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin had complained about a lack of ammunition being supplied to his forces. The more shells there are, the faster the troops advance and the fewer the casualties, he said.

The battle for Bakhmut is considered the bloodiest of the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion more than a year ago.

Prigozhin had claimed that more than 30,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the fighting around the town and in the region. His claim could not be independently verified.

The Ukrainian side recently confirmed that Russian fighters had advanced into the center of the city, which has been completely destroyed. It was once home to 70,000 people before the war.