Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner military group, told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday that pulling troops from Bakhmut (Artemivsk) would be seen as an act of cowardice
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th February, 2023) Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner military group, told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday that pulling troops from Bakhmut (Artemivsk) would be seen as an act of cowardice.
"Do not do it. Artemivsk is the main event of this war. We must fight on. You will show cowardice. You won't be respected anymore," Prigozhin wrote on social media, addressing the Ukrainian leader.
Bakhmut is located north of Donetsk in the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk People's Republic and is an important transport hub for supplying Ukrainian troops stationed in Donbas.
Earlier on Friday, DPR officials said that the Russian military was close to taking the outskirts of Bakhmut under fire control as soldiers have hunkered down in the east of the city, and the Russian artillery was controlling all approaches to the area.
The United States reportedly fears that the conflict in Ukraine can devolve into a war of attrition, wearing out Ukrainian troops. Washington is said to be urging Kiev to surrender blockaded Bakhmut and push an offensive southward.
