Russia is ‘retreating’ from Ukraine attacks, says Wagner Chief

Moscow’s forces are retreating in Ukraine’s east and south following Kyiv’s counteroffensive, the head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group said Friday.

The comments contradict recent assessments by Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukraine was suffering “catastrophic” losses and that there was a lull in fighting.

“On the ground now … the Russian army is retreating on the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson fronts. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are pushing back the Russian army,” Yevgeny Prigozhin said on social media.

The Kremlin last year claimed to have annexed the southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions despite not fully controlling them, and Ukraine has posted limited gains there recently.

“We are washing ourselves in blood. No one is bringing reserves. What they tell us is the deepest deception,” Prigozhin added, referring to the Russian military and political leadership.

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The 62-year-old Western-sanctioned businessman close to the Kremlin, who has become a prominent figure in Russia’s operation in Ukraine, is also a vehement critic of Moscow’s policies there.

His forces, bolstered by tens of thousands of prison recruits, played a central role in Russia’s capture of the Donetsk region town, Bakhmut, the longest and likely bloodiest battle of the conflict.

In an escalation of his Kremlin-critical rhetoric, Prigozhin also undermined the very premise of Putin’s decision to launch the military operation in Ukraine.

“Why did the special military operation begin? he added.

Fighting has increased in occupied parts of Ukraine’s south and east, including strikes far behind enemy lines.

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