The founder of the Russian mercenary group that has led the fighting in the hotly contested eastern Ukraine city of Bakhmut offered to reveal Russian troop positions to Ukraine forces in exchange for Kyiv’s withdrawal from the city, classified Pentagon documents leaked onto the gaming platform Discord indicate.
The Washington Post reported Monday that a Ukrainian official confirmed Yevgeny Prigozhin extended the offer to intelligence officials in January and possibly multiple times thereafter. Kyiv, however, did not trust Prigozhin and rejected the proposal, the Post said.
Prigohzin’s covert relationship with Ukrainian intelligence includes calls and in-person meetings in Africa, the Post reported.
The report, if confirmed, could expose Prigozhin to accusations of treason. The Post also describes documents indicating Russian Defense Ministry officials privately debated how to respond to Prigozhin’s unrelenting criticism of the regular military’s performance and inability to provide sufficient ammunition.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the report: “It looks like another duck. Unfortunately, even respected publications in recent years quite often do not disdain from this.”
Prigozhin’s militia has been the point of the Russian spear in Bakhmut, the primary focus of the war in recent months. His forces, like Russia’s regular forces across hundreds of miles of the front line, have been in a virtual stalemate with Ukraine’s defenses.
Developments:
∙ Peskov also rejected French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent statement that Russia has suffered a geopolitical defeat in Ukraine and is now gradually becoming dependent on China. He described the relationship as a “strategic, special partnership.”
∙ Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that allows foreign citizens who signed contracts for military service during the “special military operation” to obtain Russian citizenship.
Clock running out on new grain deal
Negotiations aimed at extending an agreement that for months has allowed Ukraine to ship badly needed grain to developing nations have ended with no deal in place, Ukraine agricultural official Olha Trofimtseva said Monday. The agreement has also cleared the way for shipments of Russian fertilizers and other products. Turkish officials who have helped mediate previous deals still expect an extension of the agreement set to end Thursday, Tromfimtseva said, but she added that no additional negotiations had been scheduled.
“Suspension or unilateral withdrawal from the grain agreement is possible,” she warned. “But it will mean an escalation of the situation for everyone and, first of all, for the Russian side, and in this case they will make their negotiating position more difficult in the future. I hope they understand this.”
