Russia's Wagner boss scoffs at Moscow claims it inflicted huge Ukraine losses - The Straits Times

MOSCOW - Moscow said on Tuesday it had thwarted another major offensive by Ukraine in Donetsk, destroying military equipment and inflicting huge personnel losses, a statement that the powerful head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group dismissed as “absurd science fiction”.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said that its forces had repelled Ukraine’s second major offensive in two days.

The ministry said it destroyed, among other military equipment, eight main battle Leopard tanks supplied to Ukraine by its Western allies and 109 armoured vehicles.

It also said that total Ukrainian losses amounted to 1,500 troops.

There was no immediate comment from Kyiv about Russia’s assertions and Reuters was not able to verify the claims.

Both sides have often made claims of inflicting heavy human losses on each other, which could not be independently verified.

Mr Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose Wagner Group spent months fighting in Bakhmut and who has frosty relations with Moscow, cast doubt on the Defence Ministry statement, however.

To kill that many people would require daily gains of 150km, he said in remarks published on the Telegram channel of his press service.

“I therefore believe that this is simply wild and absurd science fiction,” said Mr Prigozhin.

Totting up the figures provided by the ministry would imply “we have already destroyed the entire planet five times over”, he added sarcastically.

Mr Prigozhin has frequently clashed with Moscow’s defence establishment.

He has taken issue over the conduct of Russia’s campaign in Ukraine and what he says is insufficient support being provided to his Wagner soldiers, which has led to needlessly heavy losses.

On Monday, he decried the loss to Ukrainian forces of a village near Bakhmut and said tactics used by regular Russian forces would lead to more setbacks within two weeks.

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2023-06-06 01:50:00Z
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