The owner of the PMC "Wagner" Yevhen Pryhozhyn informed that his mercenaries are leaving Bakhmut and handing over control of the city to the regular Russian army, saying that the "Wagnerians" need to recover in the rear camps. According to him, the process will last until June 1.
"Until June 1, we all go out, rest, prepare, and then we will receive new tasks," Pryhozhyn added.
In his video message, he made fun of the military: he showed two men with the callsigns "Bieber" and "Dolin" who are supposed to protect the Russian invaders from the Defense Forces of Ukraine if they are afraid of them. He also asked the "Wagnerians" not to insult the Russian military.
- On May 20, Pryhozhyn informed his alleged control over Bakhmut. At the same time, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine denied this and added that the Defense Forces of Ukraine control some industrial and infrastructure facilities in the "Litak" area.
- The day before, it became known that the Russians are now bringing reinforcements to Bakhmut: airborne, motorized rifle and some special units.
- Citing sources, The New York Times newspaper wrote that Ukrainian troops managed to advance near Bakhmut, taking advantage of the conflict between the PMC "Wagner" and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
- On May 15, the Ministry of Defense reported that in two days the Defense Forces had advanced in some places in the Bakhmut direction at a distance of 350 meters to two kilometers.
- On May 9, it became known that the Russians lost their positions around Bakhmut for the first time in a long time. On the southwestern outskirts of the city, a two-kilometer section was retaken from the Russians by units of the 3rd Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Before that, the owner of the PMC "Wagner" Yevhen Pryhozhyn, spoke about the escape from the positions of the fighters of the Russian 72nd Brigade. They allegedly exposed a strategic bridgehead. After that, Ukrainian troops began to recapture other small positions.
- On May 8 and 9, units of the 3rd assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine recaptured a two-kilometer section on the southwestern outskirts of Bakhmut from the Russians. The brigade published a video of the assault on the positions of the occupiers. The commander of the Ground Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi commended the soldiers for this. According to him, a competent defense made it possible to exhaust the PMC "Wagner" in this direction, due to which the mercenaries were replaced by less well-prepared units of the regular troops of the Russian Federation.
- On the night of May 5, Pryhozhyn, against the background of corpses of mercenaries, cursed Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation Valerii Herasimov. According to him, the shortage of ammunition at the PMC "Wagner" reaches 70%, and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation does not react to this in any way. He also stated that the "Wagnerians" will hand over their positions near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region to units of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Later, Pryhozhyn decided to stay in Bakhmut after all, as the Ministry of Defense of Russia allegedly promised to provide "his PMC with as many weapons and ammunition as necessary for the continuation of hostilities."
- Intense fighting in the Bakhmut region began in July 2022 and continues to this day. In order to capture Bakhmut, Russia sent the most prepared units of regular troops and "Wagnerians" there. Most of the occupiersʼ artillery is concentrated in this direction.