Prigozhin denied the retreat of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Artemovsk

The Armed Forces of Ukraine are not retreating from Artemovsk to the DPR, fierce battles are going on in the northern quarters, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner PMC, said.

The businessman was asked to confirm the information that appeared in the media that the Ukrainian military were retreating from the northern quarters of Artemivsk. Prigogine’s answer published in the Telegram channel of his press service.

“I am clarifying the situation. The APU is not retreating anywhere. APU fight to the last. In the northern quarters of Artemovsk, there are fierce battles for every street, every house, every stairwell. Of course, it’s nice that the media want the Armed Forces to retreat, but this does not happen either in the northern quarters, or in the south, or in the east,” the businessman said.

On January 19, the founder of Wagner PMC announced that he had taken control of the settlement of Kleshcheevka, which is “one of the important suburbs” of Artemovsk. The next day, the acting head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, said that Artemovsk was close to the operational encirclement. According to him, the fighters of PMC “Wagner” are moving forward “both day and night.” After that, the commander of the special forces “Akhmat” Apty Alaudinov informedthat Artemovsk is close to the operational encirclement, almost all roads for the enemy are blocked.

On February 1, Andrey Marochko, a military expert and ex-lieutenant colonel of the LPR, said that Russian troops had to go a few kilometers to encircle Artemovsk. He also added that if the Ukrainian troops try to get out of the encirclement, then “for them it could turn into a disaster.” The flight of Ukrainian servicemen from Artemivsk is still possible, and some military men are still trying to do it through “secret paths”, Marochko believes.

On February 3, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky ruled out the surrender of Artemivsk by Ukrainian troops. “Surrender Bakhmut [Артемовск] no one will. We will fight as long as we can,” he said. On the same day, Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of Zelensky’s office, refused to name the losses of the Ukrainian armed forces in Artemivsk. According to him, Kyiv “pays the highest price” for holding the city.

Russia’s special operation in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin called the protection of the inhabitants of Donbass, as well as the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, its goals. During the special operation, Russian troops took full control of the LPR, as well as most of the DPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. Subsequently, these territories became part of Russia, and on October 19 martial law was introduced in the regions.