Russian army replaces Wagner units in Bakhmut

STORY: Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group organization withdraw from the outskirts of the city of Bakhmut, to be replaced by regular government soldiers.

This is according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

This appears to at least partially confirm statements by the group’s founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin (seen in this Thursday May 25 video release) that his forces would leave the devastated city from May 25 to June 1.

And the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense says that as of Thursday, the mercenaries remain inside the city.

The Ukrainian military also said the number of Russian attacks in the region had decreased in recent days.

Prigozhin claimed to have completed the capture of the city by Russia on Saturday May 20, after the longest and bloodiest battle of the war in which his group played a central role.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government says Russia launched 36 drones against the country in nighttime attacks, but each one was shot down without hitting its target.

This footage from a Reuters camera shows debris falling on the capital kyiv.

The drones would be of Iranian origin and given to the Russian army.