Ukrainian Forces Prepare for Counterattack Near Artemovsk, Says PMC Wagner Founder

The Wagner Group founder argued that Ukrainian forces seek to negate all the gains made by the Russian troops in Artemovsk.

Ukrainian forces seem to be poised to launch a counteroffensive in the vicinity of Artemovsk (Bakhmut), said Evgeny Prigozhin, Russian entrepreneur and founder of the PMC “Wagner.”

As Prigozhin explained to media on Tuesday, the odds of Ukrainian troops preparing for this attack are “a hundred percent.”

According to him, the upcoming attack would be carried out along four directions: two enemy contingents will likely attack the Russian forces’ flanks, while another two contingents will attempt to bisect the Wagner forces operating in the city.

“They definitely plan to cut off the PMC Wagner force,” Prigozhin said, adding that Ukrainian forces thus hope to nullify Wagner’s gains in Artemosvk.

His revelations come amid media reports suggesting that the regime in Kiev decided to continue holding on to Artemovsk despite the fact that the situation for the Ukrainian troops in the city is becoming hopeless.

While Ukrainian forces continue to try and hold their ground in Artemovsk, the Russian forces, spearheaded by the PMC Wagner units have been inflicting heavy losses upon the Ukrainian troops there and currently threaten to completely cut off the few remaining supply lines into the city.