Senior Ukrainian defense official's armored car presumably hit: Wagner
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The Wagner paramilitary group reports that the armored vehicle of the Commander of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces has been presumably hit.
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M113 transporter and other vehicles destroyed by Wagner's artillery on their way to Bakhmut. May 2, 2023 (Wagner PMC)
An armored vehicle, presumably with Commander of Ukrainian Territorial Defense Force Igor Tantsiura inside, was destroyed, Wagner Group private military company (PMC) chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Tuesday.
"Today at 13.25, artillery units of PMC Wagner… destroyed an armored car, in which, presumably, there was the commander of the territorial defense forces of the armed forces of Ukraine, Igor Ivanovich Tantsiura, who was on his way to Bakhmut. We are currently reviewing this information," Prigozhin said in an audio message posted on his press office's Telegram channel.
Yevgeny Prigozhin claims that, according to preliminary information, Major General Tantsyura, Commander of the Territorial Defense Forces of Ukraine, was killed by Wagner artillery between Chasov Yar and Bakhmut. Let's see if this gets confirmed by other sources. pic.twitter.com/2pe5lVKbS7
— Russians With Attitude (@RWApodcast) May 2, 2023
Wagner has led the Battle of Bakhmut since last summer, but Ukrainian forces have so far blocked Russian attempts to gain full control of the city. The private military company is in control of almost 90% of the city at the moment, with Ukrainian forces holding on to the Western outskirts of it.
A soldier from the Wagner Group private military company confirmed to Sputnik in late April that the group has advanced into the western outskirts of Bakhmut, also known as Artyomovsk.
"Three days ago, we advanced behind the railway to a nine-story building, we have cleared it and are now moving westward. There are nine-story buildings in front of us, the last ones that remain in the western part of Bakhmut," the soldier stated, adding that the conflict was heavy as a result of lack of shelter for the troops.
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The city has been at the center of fierce battles for months now, putting Russia before a new major victory.
It was reported earlier that the Commander of the Eastern Group of Ukraine's Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that troops have been fighting in Bakhmut for the sole purpose of buying more time before the start of Kiev's spring offensive.
"We must buy us some time to bring in reserves and begin the spring counteroffensive, which is nearing," Syrskyi was quoted as saying by the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
