The head of Wagner has warned that Russian forces are heading down the “worst scenario” near Bakhmut as swathes of hard-earned territory are being lost.
“The situation on the flanks is developing according to the worst predicted scenario,” Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an audio message.
“All the territories that were taken with the blood and lives of our comrades over many months, advancing tens or hundreds of metres a day, are now being thrown away practically without a fight by those who should be holding our flanks,” he added.
The leader of the Russian mercenary group argued that it is the job of regular Russian forces to protect Wagner’s flanks near Bakhmut, the city at the centre of the longest and bloodiest battle of the war.
Russia’s defence ministry said earlier that its paratroopers were supporting an advance on the west of the city and had pinned down Ukrainian army units on the flanks.
