Russia’s Wagner Chief Warns Defense Minister of Coming Ukrainian Attack

Ukrainian servicemen with a M113 armored personnel carrier drive in the town of Chasiv Yar as smoke rises from the direction of Bakhmut on March 20, 2023. (AFP)
Ukrainian servicemen with a M113 armored personnel carrier drive in the town of Chasiv Yar as smoke rises from the direction of Bakhmut on March 20, 2023. (AFP)
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Russia’s Wagner Chief Warns Defense Minister of Coming Ukrainian Attack

Ukrainian servicemen with a M113 armored personnel carrier drive in the town of Chasiv Yar as smoke rises from the direction of Bakhmut on March 20, 2023. (AFP)
Ukrainian servicemen with a M113 armored personnel carrier drive in the town of Chasiv Yar as smoke rises from the direction of Bakhmut on March 20, 2023. (AFP)

Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin told Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in a letter published on Monday that the Ukrainian army was planning an imminent offensive aimed at cutting off his Wagner forces from the main body of Russian troops in eastern Ukraine.

In the letter published by his press service, Prigozhin said the "large-scale attack" was planned for late March or the start of April.

"I ask you to take all necessary measures to prevent the Wagner private military company being cut off from the main forces of the Russian army, which will lead to negative consequences for the special military operation," he said, employing the term that Moscow uses for its war in Ukraine.

It was the first time Prigozhin has published such correspondence with the defense minister, whom he has frequently criticized over the conduct of the war.

The unusual move appeared to have two possible aims: to confuse Ukraine commanders and to seek to pin blame on Shoigu, not Prigozhin, if the purported Ukrainian maneuver proved successful.

Prigozhin said he was providing details of the Ukrainian plan and of his own proposal to counter it in an attachment to the letter, which he did not make public. He did not say how he knew of Ukraine's intentions.

He said Wagner forces currently controlled 70% of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which they have been trying to capture since last summer in the longest and bloodiest battle of the war.



Trump Demurs on US Involvement on Iran, Araghchi Hints it Can Step in to End Fighting

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (not pictured) at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (not pictured) at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
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Trump Demurs on US Involvement on Iran, Araghchi Hints it Can Step in to End Fighting

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (not pictured) at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (not pictured) at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 16, 2025. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump declined on Monday to answer what it would take for US to be directly involved in the growing conflict between Israel and Iran, saying he did not want to talk about the issue.

Instead, he continued to press Iran on negotiations on its nuclear program.

“They should talk, and they should talk immediately,” Trump said during a bilateral meeting with the Canadian prime minister during the G7 summit.

Trump added: “I’d say Iran is not winning this war.”

Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi appeared to make a veiled outreach Monday for the US to step in and negotiate an end to dayslong hostilities between Israel and Iran.

In a post on X, the website formerly known as Twitter, Araghchi wrote that if Trump is “genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential.”

“It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu,” Iran’s top diplomat continued. “That may pave the way for a return to diplomacy.”

The message to Washington comes as the most recent round of talks between US and Iran was canceled over the weekend after Israel targeted key military and political officials in Tehran on Thursday.