Experiences of Russian fighters being strategically redeployed from Bakhmut to Avdiivka are being refuted by the pinnacle of a paramilitary outfit.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the non-public army firm Wagner Group, denied media experiences of his troopers being transferred to Avdiivka to make sure Russia’s success within the area.
The Ukrainian-held Donbas metropolis of Avdiivka, positioned roughly 90 kilometers (55.9 miles) south of Bakhmut and simply north of Russian-occupied Donetsk, has been labeled by Ukrainian army officers as a “second Bakhmut” attributable to elevated shelling in current weeks.
“No, this isn’t true,” Prigozhin stated in a Telegram submit printed Tuesday. “There are not any divisions of PMC (Personal Army Firm) ‘Wagner’ on Avdiivka and by no means have been. All duties which might be carried out are carried out solely by the army. And good luck to the blokes of their process!”
ARIS MESSINIS/AFP through Getty Photos
Prigozhin’s assertion contradicts a brand new evaluation printed by The Institute for the Research of Battle (ISW), a Washington, D.C.-based suppose tank, which stated that Russian army management have seemingly dedicated “restricted greater high quality Wagner Group components” to its offensive on Avdiivka to “probably to strengthen current restricted tactical successes within the space.”
The British Ministry of Protection stated in its personal March 20 evaluation that Russia was making “creeping positive aspects” within the largely destroyed metropolis of Avdiivka.
Vitaliy Barabash, town’s administration head, stated Sunday on his Telegram channel that Russian forces are turning Avdiivka into “a spot from post-apocalyptic films” and could also be “wiped off the face of the Earth.”
New video footage launched by the Donetsk regional police and printed by The Guardian exhibits destruction together with residential blocks with charred partitions and piles of rubble on abandoned streets. Police reportedly proceed to aim to evacuate residents.
Prigozhin’s fighters have spent a lot of their war-time motion in Bakhmut, a metropolis the place tens of 1000’s of troopers on each side have reportedly been injured or killed since combating escalated final summer time.
Sergiy Kudelia, an affiliate professor of political science at Baylor College, informed Newsweek through electronic mail that “Bakhmut is sort of absolutely encircled” by Russians and should have given the Russian army the assumption “that the job is principally achieved there.”
“Their new technique could also be ready the Ukrainians out till they run out of provides and withdraw or give up,” he stated, including that Avdiivka’s significance is essential attributable to its proximity with Donetsk.
Donetsk can also be a reminder of “fixed failure” for Russian forces, he added, attributable to them being unable to take management of the central city within the Donbas over a yr after it launched its particular army operation.
If Ukraine continues to carry regular in Avdiivka, Kudelia stated it prevents an extra motion of the entrance westward within the route of Kurakhove and the encirclement of Uhledar from the north.
“So, they should take management over Avdiivka—which is now only a closely fortified ghost city with no buildings or residents left—to make bigger territorial positive aspects,” he stated.
Whereas Wagner’s official strategic place stays unverified primarily based on the conflicting experiences by Prigozhin and ISW, Kudelia stated it would not be a shock to see these fighters on the forefront of this new operation.
“They’re Russia’s go-to frontal assault troops attributable to [their] excessive casualty charge acceptance,” he stated.
Newsweek reached out to the Ukrainian and Russian protection ministries through electronic mail for remark.
