Kadyrov Appeals to Putin for Support

The leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, has addressed a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, requesting that the positions of the Russian "Wagner" group in Bakhmut be handed over to the Chechen "Akhmat" battalion. The text was published on his Telegram channel.

Kadyrov noted that the request has already been sent. He asked Putin to instruct the Minister of Defense and the Director of the National Guard to give orders for the withdrawal of "Akhmat" units from other directions and to redeploy them in Bakhmut to take over the positions of the "Wagner" forces.

The founder of the Russian private military company "Wagner," Yevgeny Prigozhin, announced yesterday that his fighters are ready to hand over the positions they occupy in Bakhmut to the "Akhmat" battalion, which operates under the direct command of the Chechen leader. Prigozhin sent an official letter with this proposal to Russian Minister Sergey Shoigu.

“The Ukrainian armed forces control just two square kilometers in Bakhmut, and I am confident that 'Akhmat' will succeed in capturing the city,” Prigozhin wrote.

Meanwhile, the founder of "Wagner" had declared the day before that his subordinate units would leave Bakhmut on May 10 due to “heavy losses and a lack of ammunition.”