Putin sidesteps general mobilization: Chechen mercenaries, convicts to replace Wagner – Bloomberg

Wagner's withdrawal will not change the course of the war in Ukraine, but Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's attempts to avoid a general mobilization mean that Russia is likely to send more Chechens and convicts to the front lines in the coming weeks, Bloomberg said, citing confidential sources.

It is not yet known how many troops Chechnya could provide. In May, Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov said in his Telegram channel that 7,000 of his troops were already in Ukraine, and another 2,400 were being trained.

According to Bloomberg's sources, Russian troops are at risk of being exhausted during the Ukrainian counter-offensive.

Officials said that Russia deployed large numbers of troops to Bakhmut after Wagner PMC announced its withdrawal from the city, leading to a shortage of troops in the occupied regions of southern Ukraine.

In a May interview with Russian journalists, Wagner PMC leader Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed that he had lost 20,000 troops during the months of fighting for Bakhmut. He claimed that about 50,000 convicted mercenaries were deployed on the battlefield.

The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, previously predicted that after the failed mutiny of Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner's militants would no longer participate in Russia's war against Ukraine, despite the fact that they were the "most effective unit" of the aggressor state.

Earlier, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry reported that its forces were continuing their offensive on the Bakhmut, Melitopol, and Berdyansk sections of the front, advancing 1.3 kilometers toward the port city of Berdyansk.

Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said that Ukrainian forces have not yet entered Bakhmut due to the peculiarities of this area, which make it difficult to liberate it, as there is a large number of engineering fortifications and strongholds temporarily occupied by the Russian forces.