Putin ‘private army’ chief accuses Russian troops of ‘running away’ as Ukraine army retakes land near Bakhmut

The chief of Vladimir Putin’s Wagner Group “private army” accused Russian soldiers on Monday of “quietly running away” allowing Ukrainian forces to retake part of a village near Bakhmut in the country’s east.

Yevgeny Prigozhin was scathing in his criticism of Russian troops for losing ground at Berkhivka, north of the town which has seen some of the fiercest fighting in Europe since the Second World War.

Western officials estimate Wagner and Russian forces suffered some 60,000 casualties in the year-long battle for Bakhmut, with roughly a third of them being fatalities as troops were “mown” down in waves of First World War-type attacks.

Prigozhin’s private Wagner militia captured Bakhmut last month after the longest battle of the war and handed its positions there to regular Russian troops.

Ukrainian forces have continued to attack areas north and south of the city including Berkhivka, whose seizure Wagner had claimed on February 24.

The village lies about two miles northwest of Bakhmut.

“Now part of the settlement of Berkhivka has already been lost, the troops are quietly running away. Disgrace!” Prigozhin said in an audio message published by his press service.

He urged Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and the country’s Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, to come to the front to rally the troops.

His outburst came amid reports that Wagner soldiers had captured a lieutenant colonel of the Russian army, accusing him of firing on them and forcing him to do a hostage-type admission.

Prigozhin has waged an astonishing public feud with Shoigu and Gerasimov for months, frequently accusing them of failing to provide sufficient ammunition and support for Wagner in the field, and so causing it to suffer needlessly heavy losses

Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-backed governor of the Donetsk region, which includes Bakhmut, told Russian state television the situation on the town’s flanks was “under control” but “very difficult”.