Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Russian army unit fled combat in Bakhmut, says Wagner boss; Britain to blacklist Russia’s Wagners

Russian army unit fled combat in Bakhmut, says Wagner boss; Britain to blacklist Russia’s Wagners

The boss of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group on Tuesday accused a Russian military unit of fleeing positions near Bakhmut in Ukraine and said the state was incapable of defending its country.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose influence has risen hugely in Moscow’s Ukraine offensive, has in recent days released a series of scathing videos attacking Russia’s military leadership.

“Today one of the units of the defense ministry fled from one of our flanks... exposing the front,” Prigozhin said in a video.

He has threatened to pull his fighters out of Bakhmut on May 10 if he did not receive badly needed ammunition.

The mercenary group has spearheaded Moscow’s fight for the eastern Ukrainian city.

Prigozhin said soldiers were fleeing because of the “stupidity” of Russian army commanders, who he said were giving “criminal orders.”

“Soldiers should not die because of the absolute stupidity of their leadership,” Prigozhin said.

He released the video on Russia’s Victory Day, when Moscow celebrates the Soviet victory over the Nazis in World War II.

Russia’s defense ministry said in a statement later in the day that “assault troops” — normally a reference to Wagner units — were “continuing to fight in the
western part” of Bakhmut.

The ministry said Russian paratroopers “provided assistance,” without mentioning Prigozhin’s accusation of soldiers abandoning their posts.

In his unprecedented attack on the Russian army, Prigozhin said Tuesday that Moscow’s top generals were trying to “deceive” President Vladimir Putin over the Kremlin’s Ukraine campaign.

“If all the tasks are being carried out in such a way as to deceive the commander-in-chief (Putin), then either he will rip your arse or the Russian people will — who will be angry that the war is lost,” Prigozhin said.

As Ukraine prepares for a spring offensive, the outspoken 61-year-old questioned the Kremlin’s ability to defend the country.

“Why is the state not able to defend its country?” Prigozhin said in the video, adding that Ukraine was hitting Russian border regions “successfully.”

Prigozhin published the video as Moscow celebrated its Victory Day with a grand military parade on Red Square that was televised across the country.

He said Ukraine was preparing for an offensive “that will be on the ground, not on TV.”

“So far, in our country everyone thinks that everything needs to be done on TV.”

Russia has provided near round-the-clock coverage of its offensive, showing the army in an exclusively positive light.

Meanwhile The Times newspaper reported Tuesday that Britain is set to formally blacklist the group as a terrorist organization to increase pressure on Russia.

Wagner mercenaries have spearheaded Russia’s months-long assault on Bakhmut in the industrial Donbas region.

After two months of building a legal case, proscription or a formal blacklisting of the group was “imminent” and likely to be enacted within weeks, the newspaper reported citing a government source.

This would make it a criminal offense to belong to Wagner, attend its meetings, encourage support for it or carry its logo in public, The Times said. It would also impose financial sanctions on the group and there would be implications for Wagner’s ability to raise money if any funds went through British financial institutions, the newspaper added.

Britain’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Bakhmut has been under Russian attack for more than nine months, with Russia’s Wagner Group mercenaries leading repeated attempts to advance on what was once a city of 70,000.

The group’s leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said in a social media message on Monday that his troops were beginning to receive ammunition needed to press their advance. Troops had advanced a maximum of 130 meters (400 feet) amid fierce fighting, Prigozhin said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×