Russian Cover-Up of Bakhmut Retreat Fails Miserably

Russia's Ministry of Defense confirmed its forces are retreating from Bakhmut, Ukraine, which Russia has been trying and failing to seize for months. Russia has regrouped to "more advantageous defensive positions" north of Bakhmut. Ukraine said Friday its forces are making gains in Bakhmut in some pockets. Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the head of the Russian Wagner Group, which has been fighting in Bakhmut, claimed the retreat is "a flight, not a regrouping." Russia finds itself on the back foot as Ukraine prepares to launch a counteroffensive sometime this spring or summer, according to U.S. intelligence assessments.