Ukraine's Counteroffensive Progresses Despite Silence and Costs.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of Russia's Wagner Group, has claimed that the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine is no longer under Russian control, and that troops under the leadership of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov are fleeing. Ukrainian forces have retaken part of the settlement of Berkhivka, north of Bakhmut. Prigozhin's fighters had been involved in the battle for Bakhmut since the summer of 2022. Their recent withdrawal came after Prigozhin accused Shoigu and Gerasimov of intentionally depriving his fighters of ammunition.