The leader of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said he would pull his forces from Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine if military command in Moscow doesn’t provide more ammunition – the latest sign of tension between the mercenary operation and Russia’s defense ministry.
(Bloomberg) — The leader of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said he would pull his forces from Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine if military command in Moscow doesn’t provide more ammunition – the latest sign of tension between the mercenary operation and Russia’s defense ministry.
A massive fire took several hours to extinguished at a fuel depot in Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula after it was hit by suspected drones. Social media images earlier showed black smoke billowing high into the sky. Local, Kremlin-installed officials accused Ukraine of carrying out the attack.
Ukraine’s defense chief said final preparations are underway for a counteroffensive to dislodge Russian forces from parts of Ukraine’s southeast. The comments followed a fresh wave of aerial assaults across Ukraine on Friday that killed at least 25 people — including six children.
Key Developments
- Russia Strikes Across Ukraine as Kyiv Says New Offensive Nears
- Wagner’s Prigozhin Warns He’s Ready to Withdraw From Bakhmut
- Bank of Russia Sees Economy Growing as Sanctions Shock Fades
- Russian Oil Still Powering Europe’s Cars With Help of India
(All times CET)
New Shakeup at Russian Defense Ministry (2 p.m.)
Colonel General Alexei Kuzmenkov has been appointed deputy defense minister for supply and logistics, Russia’s defense ministry said on its Telegram account, in the latest shakeup to the ranks of the nation’s military leadership.
Kuzmenkov had been deputy chief of Russia’s National Guard since 2019. He replaces Mikhail Mizintsev, who served at this post since September after leading Russian troops during the siege of Mariupol, weeks into the Kremlin invasion of Ukraine.
The news came after Wagner group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin complained in an interview of an acute ammunition shortage, warning that he’s ready to pull his mercenary troops from Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine if the problem isn’t resolved.
Oil Depot Fire a Blow to Russian Logistics, Ukraine Says (11 a.m.)
The fire that engulfed a Russian fuel depot in Crimea on Saturday disrupted military logistics there, Nataliya Humeniuk, spokeswoman for Ukraine’s southern military command, said in a TV appearance.
The oil depot in Sevastopol supplied fuel to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, which has been responsible for many missile strikes on Ukrainian cities, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Facebook.
The large-scale fire destroyed ten fuel tanks with a total capacity estimated by Ukrainian intelligence officials at about 40,000 tons. The general staff statement didn’t specify whether Ukraine took responsibility for targeting the depot.
Merkel Defends Russian Policies She Pursued as Chancellor (10 a.m.)
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended her Russian policies in an interview with Die Zeit, including support for the 2014 Minsk agreements which sought to end the separatist conflict in Ukraine’s Donbas region.
Regarding the Kremlin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, months after she left office, Merkel said “I tried to prevent this situation with what I had to hand. That this wasn’t successful isn’t proof that it wasn’t right to try.”
In an interview at the Leipzig Book Fair on Saturday evening, Merkel declined to comment on how the war in Ukraine would end. The former chancellor called for the the relevant parties to keep an open mind about possible peace talks, according to Die Zeit.
Wagner’s Prigozhin Says Ammunition Shortage May Cause Pullback (8:30 a.m.)
Yevgeny Prigozhin told a Russian military blogger that he may be forced to pull his mercenary forces out of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine if Russia’s military command fails to provide more ammunition.
The Wagner Group founder said the company’s troops will need to “withdraw in an organized manner or stay and die” if the situation doesn’t immediately improve. Wagner is receiving a fraction of the ammunition it needs, he said.
“Prigozhin is likely attempting to regain access to more ammunition as Putin is once again reshuffling the Russian military leadership in a way that may favor” the Wagner operation, the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank, said in an update.
Read more: Wagner’s Prigozhin Warns He’s Ready to Withdraw From Bakhmut
Six Kids Among 23 Killed by Russian Strike on Uman, Zelenskiy Says (8 a.m.)
Six children were among the 23 people killed in Friday’s Russian strike on the central Ukrainian city of Uman, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.
The Russian cruise missile largely leveled a high-rise apartment block in the city, south of Kyiv. Search and rescue operations were completed on Saturday.
Russia is Likely Using ‘Zindans’ to Punish Misbehaving Troops, UK Says (7 a.m.)
Russian commanders have likely started punishing breaches in discipline by detaining offending troops in “Zindans,” or improvised cells consisting of holes in the ground covered with a metal grille, the UK defense ministry said.
“Multiple recent reports from Russian personnel give similar accounts of being placed in Zindans for misdemeanors including drunkenness and attempting to terminate their contracts,” the ministry said in a Twitter update.
The move was said to be part of a crackdown after a “relatively light touch” by Russian commanders in enforcing disciple earlier in the now 14-month-old war.
Medvedev Suggests Ending Diplomatic Relations With Poland (5 p.m.)
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s nation’s security council, said on Twitter that he sees no sense in maintaining diplomatic relations with Poland while what he termed as “Russophobes” remain in power.
A former president and prime minister, Medvedev is known for provocative comments against the US and its allies on social media and elsewhere.
Russia’s foreign ministry earlier on Saturday condemned what it called the “seizure” in Warsaw of a school attached to the Russian embassy, saying it violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. A “harsh reaction” will follow, with consequences for the Polish authorities and Warsaw’s interests in Russia, the ministry said in a statement.
Zelenskiy Meets with Private Equity Investors (3 p.m.)
Ukraine’s president met Friday with Lenna Koszarny, CEO of the private equity firm Horizon Capital, along with investors from eight countries, including the US and Germany, and representatives of international development organizations.
Horizon has raised $254 million to invest in Ukrainian companies, according to an emailed statement from the president’s office. Zelenskiy praised the “trust” the firm had shown in the war-torn nation. “It very important to believe in our joint victory,” he said.
Koszarny said that first investment will be done in 30 days as Ukrainian businesses urgently need capital, according to the statement.
EU May Buy Ukrainian Grain to Ease Border Glut (11:20 a.m.)
The European Union is considering buying Ukrainian grain stuck in bordering countries to ease a glut that’s raised tensions within the bloc, according to an European Commission official.
The EU on Friday reached a deal with Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania that will replace those countries’ ban on Ukrainian products with temporary restrictions. The Eastern European nations claimed excess grain piling up in their warehouses hurt local farmers by pushing down prices.
A direct grain purchase, which would be a first for the EU, could be expensive and needs to be carefully discussed within the commission, said the official, who declined to be identified because discussions are private and ongoing.
Read more: EU Allows Some Eastern Members to Ban Ukraine Grain Imports
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