'Nonsense': Wagner chief denies report he offered to disclose Russian positions to Ukraine

Russia’s Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has denied reports suggesting that he offered to reveal positions of Russian forces to the Ukrainian military if Kyiv agreed to withdraw from Bakhmut, according to a report. According to a Alarabiya News, in an audio message posted by his press service on Telegram on Monday, Prigozhin called the allegations “nonsense,” and suggested that unnamed residents of Moscow’s Rublyovka suburb, home to many of the business and political elite, were orchestrating an attack on him. Prigozhin also denied having met Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukrainian military intelligence, in an unnamed African country, saying he had not been in the continent since the start of the Ukraine conflict and portraying the idea of a phone call with him as laughable. Earlier, citing US intelligence documents, the Washington Post reported that Prigozhin had offered to bribe Ukrainian military commanders with information about Russian troops’ positions. Wagner’s soldiers have been at the forefront of a bloody Russian offensive to take the city of Bakhmut. According to the report, 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. The paper said Ukraine rejected the offer. Prigozhin’s feud with Russian commanders 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. Meanwhile, Al Jazeera quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov saying that the Washington Post report “looks like a hoax.” With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.