Wagner Group leader retracts troop withdrawal threat from Bakhmut.

Russian Mercenary Leader Backtracks on Threat to Withdraw Troops from Ukraine

The leader of the Russian paramilitary Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has backtracked on his threat to withdraw his troops from the front lines of the war in Ukraine. Prigozhin had accused Russian Ministry of Defense leaders of withholding key ammunition and resources from his troops in February, escalating those accusations late last week. He claimed that he was suffering “useless and unjustified” losses as a result and threatened to pull his troops in the coming days.

Concessions from the Russian Ministry of Defense

Prigozhin declared that his men would leave Bakhmut by May 10, with their position in and around Bakhmut transferred to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s forces. However, he has since gotten concessions from the Russian Ministry of Defense. “We have been promised as much ammunition and weapons as we need to continue further operations. We have been promised that everything needed to prevent the enemy from cutting us off [from supplies] will be deployed,” he said on Telegram on Sunday, adding that his troops “are moving forward. We are expecting to receive ammunition.”

The Battle for Bakhmut

Wagner has roughly 50,000 fighters in Ukraine, many of whom were Russian prisoners offered pardons in exchange for fighting in the war and surviving it. The battle for Bakhmut, which has gone on for months, has been the most intense of the conflict, with both sides losing significant casualties. U.S. officials have described Russian losses in the region as “literally throwing bodies into the meat grinder.”

Preparing for Counteroffensive

This tension between Prigozhin and the Defense Ministry comes as Ukraine is preparing for its highly anticipated counteroffensive, expected to be launched in the coming weeks and bolstered by billions of dollars of military aid from the U.S. and other Western allies. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told the Washington Post this week that the expectation from their counteroffensive campaign is overestimated in the world. He fears it could lead to “emotional disappointment.”

Takeaways

• Prigozhin backtracked on his threat to withdraw his troops from the front lines of the war in Ukraine.
• He has since gotten concessions from the Russian Ministry of Defense.
• The battle for Bakhmut has been the most intense of the conflict, with both sides losing significant casualties.
• Ukraine is preparing for its highly anticipated counteroffensive, expected to be launched in the coming weeks and bolstered by billions of dollars of military aid from the U.S. and other Western allies.