Russia-Ukraine war: Wagner chief says battle for Bakhmut damaged his forces

The head of the Russian Wagner mercenary group said that the months-long battle for the key city of Bakhmut has inflicted a significant amount of damage. The Wagner chief said the ongoing fighting has damaged his forces and the Ukrainians.

In an audio message on Wednesday, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin acknowledged that the battle for Bakhmut has led to damages to both his forces and the Ukrainians. The city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine has long been a target by Moscow, where fighting has been taking place the longest.

“The battle for Bakhmut today has already practically destroyed the Ukrainian army, and unfortunately, it has also badly damaged the Wagner Private Military Company,” said Prigozhin in the audio message.

Russian officials said their forces are still making territorial gains through street-by-street fighting in the city. However, Russian forces have so far failed in encircling the city to force the Ukrainian forces to retreat.

On Thursday, the United States received new information that Russia is actively looking to acquire more weapons from North Korea in exchange for food aid, according to the White House. White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby said Washington is “concerned” that Pyongyang may provide Russia with more support in its war in Ukraine.

“We also understand that Russia is seeking to send a delegation to North Korea and that Russia is offering North Korea food in exchange for munitions,” said Kirby, whose comments followed Washington’s imposing of sanctions on a Slovakian national for attempting to arrange the sale of over two dozen types of North Korean weapons and munitions to Moscow.

Kirby said that any arms deal between Russia and North Korea would be a violation of several UN Security Council resolutions. Kirby also said that Washington would continue to monitor North Korea’s moves toward Russia, following Pyongyang’s recent statements that they will not provide or sell arms to Moscow.

The White House also dismissed the charges Moscow made against a Wall Street Journal reporter that Russian authorities detained. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at a news briefing that there was no reason to believe that Moscow’s charges against the journalist were accurate.