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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Wagner chief offered to give Russian troop locations to Ukraine, leak says |
| 2023-05-15 |
| [WaPo] In late January, with his mercenary forces dying by the thousands in a fight for the ruined city of Bakhmut, Wagner Group owner Yevgeniy Prigozhin made Ukraine an extraordinary offer. Even if not true, it's useful to insinuate it is 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 U.S. intelligence documents leaked on the group-chat platform Discord. Prigozhin has publicly feuded with Russian military commanders, who he furiously claims have failed to equip and resupply his forces, which have provided vital support to Moscow’s war effort. But he is also an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who might well regard Prigozhin’s offer to trade the lives of Wagner fighters for Russian soldiers as a treasonous betrayal. The leaked document does not make clear which Russian troop positions Prigozhin offered to disclose. Two Ukrainian officials confirmed that Prigozhin has spoken several times to the Ukrainian intelligence directorate, known as HUR. One official said that Prigozhin extended the offer regarding Bakhmut more than once, but that Kyiv rejected it because officials don’t trust Prigozhin and thought his proposals could have been disingenuous. A U.S. official also cautioned that there are similar doubts in Washington about Prigozhin’s intentions. The Ukrainian and U.S. officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information. Other leaked documents reveal Russian Defense Ministry officials privately wondering how to respond to Prigozhin’s criticism of the military’s performance and his demands for more resources, which they apparently conceded were not illegitimate grievances. The documents also speak to a power struggle between Prigozhin and top officials, including Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Against that tense backdrop, Prigohzin has carried on a secret relationship with Ukrainian intelligence that, in addition to phone calls, includes in-person meetings with HUR officers in an unspecified country in Africa, one document states. Wagner forces provide security to several governments on the continent. The leaked U.S. 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 documents also suggest that Kyiv suspects, or may know, that the Kremlin is aware of Prigozhin’s communications with Ukrainian intelligence, if not his secret negotiations over Bakhmut. One document, based on "sigint" — or intercepted communications — states that Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, "expected the Russians to use details of Prigozhin’s secret talks with the HUR and his meetings with their officers in Africa to make him appear to be a Ukrainian agent." It doesn’t specify whether Budanov suspects Moscow may already know that Prigozhin is talking to HUR officers. When informed that U.S. intelligence documents revealed Prigozhin’s communications with Ukrainian intelligence, the mercenary commander appeared to make light of the situation. "Yes of course I can confirm this information, we have nothing to hide from the foreign special services. Budanov and I are still in Africa," Prigohzin wrote on Sunday via his Telegram channel. Prigohzin didn’t immediately respond to a question about his offer to disclose Russian troop positions in exchange for a Ukrainian pullback in Bakhmut. |
| Posted by:Enver Slager8035 |
| #4 #2 Is Snark of the Day candidate. |
| Posted by: badanov 2023-05-15 11:57 |
| #3 This information is from WAPO? Well, I guess that's about as reliable as Russian or Ukrainian propaganda so it naturally belongs here. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2023-05-15 11:55 |
| #2 Does not seem likely. Why not just call him a racist like we do here? Snark O'The Day |
| Posted by: Hupolunter de Medici7308 2023-05-15 11:43 |
| #1 mercs are loyal to their paymasters. |
| Posted by: Richard Aubrey 2023-05-15 00:13 |