Saudi deputy FM meets Sudan's Sovereign Council chief in Port Sudan    Kuwait, India to elevate bilateral relations to strategic partnership Sheikh Mishal awards Mubarak Al-Kabir Medal to Modi    MoH to penalize 5 health practitioners for professional violations    Al-Samaani: Saudi Arabia to work soon on a comprehensive review of the legal system    Environment minister inaugurates Yanbu Grain Handling Terminal    Germany's attack suspect reportedly offered reward to target Saudi ambassador    U.S. Navy jet shot down in 'friendly fire' incident over Red Sea    Israeli strikes in Gaza kill at least 20 people, including five children    Trudeau's leadership under threat as NDP withdraws support, no-confidence vote looms    Arabian Gulf Cup begins with dramatic draws and a breathtaking ceremony in Kuwait    GACA report: 928 complaints filed by passengers against airlines in November    Riyadh Season 5 draws record number of over 12 million visitors    Fury vs. Usyk: Anticipation builds ahead of Riyadh's boxing showdown    Saudi Arabia to compete in 2025 and 2027 CONCACAF Gold Cup tournaments    Marianne Jean-Baptiste on Oscars buzz for playing 'difficult' woman    PDC collaboration with MEDLOG Saudi to introduce new cold storage facilities in King Abdullah Port Investment of SR300 million to enhance logistics capabilities in Saudi Arabia    Al Shabab announces departure of coach Vítor Pereira    My kids saw my pain on set, says Angelina Jolie    Legendary Indian tabla player Zakir Hussain dies at 73    Eminem sets Riyadh ablaze with unforgettable debut at MDLBEAST Soundstorm    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Wagner chief vows to hand Bakhmut to Russian army by June
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 22 - 05 - 2023

The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group has vowed to transfer control of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut to the Russian army by June 1.
Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed to have captured Bakhmut on Saturday, but Kyiv says it still controls parts of the city.
Ukraine says its troops are still advancing on the outskirts of Bakhmut. But Prigozhin said his troops will start handing over the city to the Russian army on Thursday.
"Wagner will leave Artemovsk from May 25 to June 1," Prigozhin said in an audio recording on Telegram.
Bakhmut was previously known as Artemovsk, in honor of a Soviet revolutionary, before Ukraine renamed it.
He said that Wagner had set up "defense lines" on the west of the city ahead of the transfer.
But Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister, Hanna Maliar, reiterated that its forces still have a small foothold inside the city and are advancing on the outskirts, adding that the "intensity" of their movement had reduced.
She later wrote in a post on Telegram that Ukrainian troops still controlled "certain private facilities and the private sector in the 'Litak' area" of the city.
Analysts said Bakhmut is of little strategic value to Moscow, but its capture would be a symbolic victory for Russia after the longest battle of the war in Ukraine so far.
Wagner mercenaries have concentrated their efforts on the city for months and their relentless, costly tactic of sending in waves of men seems to have gradually eroded Kyiv's resistance.
There have been conflicting claims from the two sides over the status of Bakhmut in recent days.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky insisted Bakhmut "is not occupied" by Russia, while speaking at the G7 summit in Japan on Sunday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Wagner after it said it had captured the city. Prigozhin — posing with some of his fighters — made the claim in a video posted to social media on Saturday.
Prigozhin has staked his reputation, and that of his private army, on seizing the city.
In his latest comments, Prigozhin said: "If the Ministry of Defenae does not have enough personnel, we have thousands of generals."
He has repeatedly targeted top Russian military officials, criticizing them publicly for not supporting his troops. Last month, he even threatened to pull his troops out of the city if they were not provided with much-needed ammunition.
The capture of Bakhmut would bring Russia slightly closer to its goal of controlling the whole of Donetsk region, one of four regions in eastern and southern Ukraine annexed by Russia last September following referendums widely condemned outside Russia as a sham.
However, when Russia fought fiercely to claim the cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk last summer, Ukraine soon reclaimed swaths of territory elsewhere.
Earlier this month, the US said it believed more than 20,000 Russian soldiers had been killed in the battle for Bakhmut and another 80,000 wounded. The BBC is unable to independently verify the figures.
There were about 70,000 people living in Bakhmut before the invasion, but only a few thousand remain in the devastated city, once best known for its salt and gypsum mines. — BBC


Clic here to read the story from its source.