The Wagnerians are back. Armed Forces confirms, provides numbers

Former members of the Wagner Group appeared near Bakhmut to fill the gaps in the defense of the Russian army, said Mykhailo Podolak, an adviser to the head of the Chancellery of the President of Ukraine. This confirms previous media reports. At the same time, Ukrainians point out that the mercenary formation de facto ceased to exist with the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Information about the presence of the Wagnerians near Bakhmut was first reported by CNN. Reporters from the American station interviewed the drone operator who spotted the mercenaries.

- The Wagnerians returned, quickly changed their commanders and are back - said the soldier.

Ukraine confirms the reports. Wagnerians near Bakhmut

The media reports were confirmed by Ilya Yevlash, head of the press service of the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

— Wagner's mercenaries are present in the territory of the Eastern Military Group. These are members of the group who stayed on the territory of Belarus, and their camps are currently being disbanded. There were a total of eight thousand mercenaries there, Yewłasz said, adding that some of them went to Africa, and some renegotiated their contracts with the Russian Ministry of National Defense and returned to the front.

According to the military, there may be about 500 mercenaries in Ukraine. However, he assured that without their leader – Yevgeny Prigozhin – they did not pose a “significant threat” to Ukrainian forces.

Mykhailo Podolak confirms and explains: The Wagner Group no longer exists

Mykhailo Podolak also reported the presence of militants near Bakhmut. “When talking about the 'return of the Wagner Group', let us remember that there is no Wagner Group anymore”, he said, adding that the formation ceased to exist after the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin and his “right hand” Dmitry Utkin alias. Wagner.

"Today there are only former fighters of the terrorist group who have gone in different directions: they are in Africa, they lead a civil-criminal life in Russian regions or they signed contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense and agreed to play the final chord, temporarily filling the Russian gap towards Bakhmut" – wrote Podolak.

According to the official, the presence of the Wagnerians is intended to temporarily distract attention from the liberation of the villages of Klishchivka and Andriivka.