Russian mercenary boss says wants Ukraine's Bakhmut for its 'underground cities' - Yahoo News

By Andrew Osborn

LONDON (Reuters) - The laminitis of Russia's astir high-profile mercenary radical said connected Saturday helium wanted his forces and the regular Russian service to seizure the tiny metropolis of Bakhmut successful eastbound Ukraine due to the fact that it possessed "underground cities" that tin clasp troops and tanks.

Russia's grinding much than 5 months-long propulsion to effort to instrumentality Bakhmut has puzzled immoderate Western subject analysts who person said that dense losses incurred connected the Russian broadside and the information that Ukraine has built antiaircraft lines to autumn backmost to adjacent mean immoderate Russian triumph there, if it happens, would beryllium pyrrhic.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, laminitis of Russia's Wagner mercenary radical which is warring successful the conflict of Bakhmut, acceptable retired successful item connected Saturday wherefore helium thought its seizure would beryllium significant.

"The cherry connected the barroom is the strategy of Soledar and Bakhmut mines, which is really a web of underground cities. It not lone (has the quality to hold) a large radical of radical astatine a extent of 80-100 metres, but tanks and infantry warring vehicles tin besides determination about."

Prigozhin, who would apt spot his governmental superior successful Moscow boosted if Bakhmut fell to Russia fixed Wagner's relation successful the warring there, said stockpiles of weapons had been stored successful the underground complexes since World War One.

His comments were a notation to immense brackish and different mines successful the country which incorporate much than 100 miles of tunnels and a immense underground country which has hosted shot matches and classical euphony concerts successful much peaceful times.

A White House authoritative said connected Thursday that Washington believed Prigozhin wanted to instrumentality power of brackish and gypsum mines successful the country for commercialized reasons. It made nary notation of their alleged subterranean subject use.

Prigozhin, who is sanctioned successful the West, cited different advantages of taking Bakhmut, calling it "a superior logistics centre" with unsocial antiaircraft fortifications.

He made his comments connected his property service's Telegram transmission arsenic shellfire echoed astir Bakhmut's near-deserted streets connected Saturday contempt a self-declared Russian ceasefire to people Orthodox Christmas, thing Kyiv rejected arsenic a ploy.

Bakhmut, which Russia calls Artyomovsk, is the absorption of the astir aggravated warring successful Ukraine, and Prigozhin made his comments arsenic different Telegram transmission associated with Wagner claimed Russia had captured a strategically-important colony connected Bakhmut's outskirts.

Reuters could not independently verify the assertion.

The Russian defence ministry earlier connected Saturday reported fierce warring successful eastbound Ukraine.

A Ukrainian defence ministry spokesperson said the municipality of Soledar, which is adjacent Bakhmut and hosts a brackish mine, was inactive nether Ukrainian power contempt what helium described arsenic fierce Russian assaults.

(Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Christina Fincher)