2023-09-28 08:32:47
2023-09-28 16:32 Compiled by United Daily News Zhou Chenyang/Reporting in real time
The Ukrainian military said that fighters who had previously fought for the Russian “Wagner” mercenary group in Ukraine have returned to the battlefield in eastern Ukraine.
CNN reported that Wagner mercenaries withdrew from the eastern Ukrainian city of Bahmut in May and handed over control of the area to the Russian army. After the failed mutiny of dead leader Prigozin in June, security experts predicted that the Kremlin would try to further integrate the Wagner Group into the Russian army.
Chilevati, deputy commander of communications of the Eastern Army Group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, told CNN on the 27th that the former Wagner fighters who have returned to Ukraine now work for the Russian Ministry of Defense or its subordinate organizations and are participating in the war as individuals rather than as a unit. “As of now, , there are hundreds of them in our direction, on the eastern front, in different areas.”
However, Chirevati tried to downplay the importance of Wagner fighters returning to the battlefield, saying that the Russian army in Ukraine “is short of troops, so for them anyone is good”.
Ukrainian military officers and soldiers involved in the offensive near Bahmut also told CNN that the former Wagner troops had returned to the area. The drone operator with the call sign “Groove” told reporters on the 26th that “Wagner is also here.” “They came back, quickly changed commanders and came back here,” he said.
Ukrainian President Zelensky’s adviser Podolyako said on the social media platform “X” (formerly Twitter) that Wagner fighters have signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense to “plug the Russian military loopholes in the direction of Bakhmut as soon as possible” ”, but he was unwilling to exaggerate the return of former Wagner mercenaries, saying, “Everyone must remember that the Wagner Private Military Company no longer exists.”
The Ukrainian military stated that fighters who had previously fought for the Russian “Wagner” mercenary group in Ukraine have returned to the war in eastern Ukraine… Ukraine Russia Russia-Ukraine War Wagner Group
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