The founder and financier of the private military company "Wagner," Yevgeny Prigozhin, announced on Friday that his "forces will withdraw from the city of Bakhmut due to a shortage of ammunition," blaming the "Russian Defense Ministry" for this situation. He expressed his frustration, standing behind a group of his fighters' bodies, stating that "his forces will have to hand over their positions in Bakhmut to the regular Russian army starting May 10."
Prigozhin declared in a statement: "On behalf of the fighters of Wagner and on behalf of the Wagner leadership, we announce that on May 10, 2023, we will be forced to transfer our positions in the Bakhmut area to the units of the Defense Ministry and withdraw the remaining Wagner personnel to logistical camps to regain our strength," noting that "due to the lack of ammunition, the units are doomed to perish in vain."
The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, indicated that he was informed of "Prigozhin's announcement about leaving his positions in Bakhmut in favor of the deployment of Russian armed forces."
Additionally, the Russian state media reported that Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had instructed one of his deputies to ensure the troops have all the weapons they need.
