Prigozhin alleges Wagner mercenaries captured Russian lieutenant colonel

The group claims it even captured the commander of the Russian troops that fired on their Ural truck.

The press office of Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the private military company Wagner, released a video on the evening of June 4 showing the interrogation of Lieutenant Colonel Roman Venevitin, commander of the 72nd Motorized Infantry Brigade, who was allegedly captured by the mercenaries.

In the footage, Venevitin appears with a bruised face, questioned in a partially underground room. He admits to ordering the disarmament of a rapid response group from the Wagner mercenary company and drunkenly firing at a vehicle believed to be carrying Wagner mercenaries.

In the video, Venevitin claims that he carried out these actions due to personal animosity. When asked to describe his actions, he simply responds with the word “guilty.”

In response to inquiries about the conflict with units from the Russian Ministry of Defense, Prigozhin commented on the video featuring Venevitin, stating, “Here’s the final piece of evidence, removing any doubts.”

Before this, Prigozhin’s press office released a report stating that the Wagner fighters engaged in a shootout with Russian Ministry of Defense troops near the village of Semyhirya, close to Bakhmut.

According to the report, this incident took place on May 17 when the militants discovered that the troops were “mining theescape routes” of the Wagner group. When the mercenaries attempted to clear the road, they allegedly came under fire from Russian forces, resulting in damage to the Ural vehicle mentioned by Venevitin.

Hanna Malyar, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, stated on June 1 that the Wagner mercenaries were unable to leave Bakhmut due to “suspicious activity” and the discovery of “dozens of explosive devices.”

According to her, the Wagner fighters postponed their withdrawal date from June 1 to 10, while the Armed Forces of Ukraine maintain control over the southwestern outskirts of the city.