Russian mercenaries begin withdrawal from Bakhmut
The entrance of the “PMC Wagner Centre,” associated with Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, during the official opening of the office block on National Unity Day, in St. Petersburg, on Nov. 4, 2022.
Olga Maltseva | AFP | Getty Images
The head of Russian private military company, the Wagner Group, said his fighters are beginning to withdraw from Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine after claiming last weekend to have captured the town after nine months of fighting.
“PMC ‘Wagner’ began the withdrawal of units from Bakhmut,” said a short message posted on Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Telegram channel.
The Wagner Group said it had wholly captured Bakhmut in the heavily contested Donetsk region last weekend, adding that it would hand the town over to regular Russian army units around May 25.
Ukraine has denied it has lost Bakhmut, with defense officials saying their forces still control a southwestern part of the town and have made progress in their bid to take back control of the flanks of the town to the north and south.
— Holly Ellyatt
F-16s on the agenda as Ukraine and allies meet virtually
An F-16 rises from low altitude in Canada in this file photo.
Steve Russell | Toronto Star | Getty Images
F-16 fighter jets will be high on the agenda as Ukraine and its international partners meet virtually on Thursday for the latest Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a coalition of nearly 50 countries supporting Ukraine’s military needs.
Ukraine has repeatedly asked its allies for F-16 fighter jets to help combat Russia’s ongoing invasion. The issue has returned to the fore recently and while some allies — such as the U.S., U.K. and several European partners — are willing to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s, there has been little appetite to provide them.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used his nightly address Wednesday to appeal for the jets ahead of the latest contact group meeting, saying “we are doing everything to…
Read the full article here