Prigozhin offered to disclose Russian troop locations to Ukraine − WP
Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of the Wagner private military company, offered to disclose the location of Russian troops to Ukraine in exchange for the withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Bakhmut, where Prigozhin's mercenaries were being killed en masse, reports The Washington Post, citing leaked documents.
Source: Washington Post
Quote from the WP: "Prigozhin said that if Ukraine’s commanders withdrew their soldiers from the area around Bakhmut, he would give Kyiv information on Russian troop positions, which Ukraine could use to attack them. Prigozhin conveyed the proposal to his contacts in Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate, with whom he has maintained secret communications during the course of the war, according to previously unreported US intelligence documents leaked on the group-chat platform Discord."
Details: Reportedly, the leaked document does not make clear which Russian troop positions Prigozhin offered to disclose.
The WP says two Ukrainian officials have confirmed that Prigozhin spoke with the Ukrainian intelligence directorate several times.
One official said that Prigozhin extended the offer regarding Bakhmut "more than once", but that Kyiv rejected it because the officials do not trust Prigozhin and thought his proposals could have been disingenuous.
The Washington Post spoke to a US official who also cautioned that there are similar doubts in Washington about Prigozhin’s intentions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would not confirm whether there had been contact with Prigozhin. The Ukrainian leader also said the public airing of information of unknown provenance would benefit Russia.
The WP also writes that according to one of the classified documents, Prigozhin told a Ukrainian intelligence officer that the Russian military was struggling with ammunition supplies. He apparently advised Ukrainian forces to push forward with an assault on the border of Crimea, which Russia has illegally annexed, while Russian troop morale was low.
The report also referred to other intelligence, noting that Prigozhin was aware of plummeting morale among Wagner forces and that some of his fighters had baulked at orders to deploy in the Bakhmut area under heavy fire, for fear of suffering more casualties.
The newspaper mentions the conflict and power struggle between Prigozhin and the Russian military leadership, particularly Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, and emphasises the bitter disappointment felt by the Wagner leader due to the gruelling battles in Bakhmut.
Against that tense backdrop, Prigohzin has reportedly carried on a secret relationship with Ukrainian intelligence that, in addition to phone calls, includes in-person meetings with Ukrainian Defence Intelligence officers in an unspecified country in Africa, one document states.
"The leaked US intelligence shows Prigozhin bemoaning the heavy toll that fighting has taken on his own forces and urging Ukraine to strike harder against Russian troops," the WP states.
The newspaper says the Kremlin did not respond to a request to comment on Prigozhin's connection with Ukraine.
Prigozhin himself ridiculed the WP, announcing on his Telegram channel that he and Budanov are "still in Africa".
Background: The Washington Post removed part of an interview with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, published on the newspaper's website on 13 May, in which the Ukrainian president was asked about contact between Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin and Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence. However, this part of the interview was later reinstated.
A source at the Washington Post explained this by saying that the outlet had been preparing a piece about Prigozhin and his contacts with Ukrainian intelligence and had posted the full transcript of the conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in error before the investigation had been released.
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