Putin's Ally Offered To Reveal Russian Locations To Ukraine If They Withdrew From Bakhmut: WaPo

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia's Wagner private military company and an ally of President Vladimir Putin, had repeatedly offered to reveal the positions of Moscow's troops to Ukraine, according to a report.

In exchange for the information, Prigozhin reportedly wanted Ukraine to pull back its troops from the frontlines of the embattled city of Bakhmut where his group has faced heavy losses over the past months. He also said his group would stand by as Ukraine attacks Russian troops.

Prigozhin's offer was revealed by The Washington Post, which cited previously unreported U.S. intelligence documents leaked on a Discord server by National Guard airman Jack Teixeira.

The documents viewed by the outlet did not specify which Russian positions Prigozhin was offering to Ukraine. The outlet also noted that Prigozhin made the offer multiple times, but was rejected by Ukrainian officials as they did not trust the Wagner chief and thought he would not hold up his end of the deal. U.S. officials also cast similar doubts on Prigozhin's intentions.

WaPo said the correspondence between Prigozhin and Ukrainian intelligence officers happened on multiple occasions. Prigozhin himself also confirmed his correspondence with Ukrainian intelligence, adding that he has "nothing to hide from the foreign special services."

News about Prigozhin's proposal comes after he and Russia's defense ministry have clashed numerous times, with the Wagner leader criticizing Moscow for refusing to send his group enough ammunition to use in the war. He also threatened to pull his troops out of Bakhmut and questioned Russia's ability to defend itself against Ukraine's much-anticipated spring counteroffensive.

"Today, everything is being done so that the front line crumbles. Today, one of the defense ministry's units fled one of our flanks, abandoning their positions. Everyone fled," he said last week. "A soldier shouldn't die because of his leaders' absolute stupidity. The commands they receive from the top are absolutely criminal."

The feud could escalate further after Prigozhin on Sunday appeared to suggest that Russia shot down its own Su-34 and Su-35 fighter jets and Mi-8 helicopters in the Bryansk region near the Ukrainian border the day before.