x.com/simpatico771/status/2083223991481667952
1 correction found
Prigozhin said Russia lost 20k men in Bakhmut
Prigozhin’s 20,000 figure was about Wagner PMC losses in Bakhmut, not total Russian losses there.
Full reasoning
The post changes Prigozhin’s claim from Wagner losses to Russia’s overall losses.
In the BBC/Mediazona investigation based on Wagner payment records, the authors write that Prigozhin "summarized the results of the 'Bakhmut meat grinder'" and that "his PMC's losses amounted to 20,000 killed." In other words, the 20,000 figure referred specifically to Wagner fighters.
Independent reporting at the time described the same interview the same way. Euronews/AP reported that Prigozhin acknowledged that "his force lost more than 20,000 fighters in the drawn-out battle" for Bakhmut.
So the statement is inaccurate because it attributes that 20,000 number to all Russian forces, when the cited figure was about Wagner’s own casualties.
2 sources
- The price of Bakhmut. We reveal the staggering toll of Russia's bloodiest battle since WW2 and Wagner's inmates recruited to fight it
Prigozhin summarized the results of the 'Bakhmut meat grinder' in an interview with milblogger Konstantin Dolgov. He said that his PMC's losses amounted to 20,000 killed.
- Wagner group chief acknowledges skills of Ukrainian army as he admits heavy losses in Bakhmut | Euronews
The head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has acknowledged that his force lost more than 20,000 fighters in the drawn-out battle for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.