New developments:
- In a video address Friday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian soldiers “have already lost the war in their minds.” He said Ukraine must pressure them further, so their sense of defeat turns into mistakes, losses and ultimate defeat.
- White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. assessment of Bakhmut is that the city remains contested territory.
- The British Defense Ministry said Russia likely added up to 10,000 prisoners to those recruited to fight in Ukraine.
The founder of the Wagner Group paramilitary forces on Friday sharply criticized the Russian military, saying Russian troops abandoned the flank in and around the eastern city of Bakhmut, allowing Ukrainian troops to gain ground on all sides of the disputed city.
In a video released Friday, millionaire mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said, "The flanks are crumbling, the front is collapsing," around Bakhmut and the "desertion" of the area allowed Ukrainian forces take control of the Chasiv Yar-Bakhmut road, a key supply line Wagner forces had blocked.
Prigozhin again accused the defense ministry of withholding ammunition from the group, a claim denied earlier by the Russian Defense Ministry. He also mocked Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov’s description of the withdrawal of Russian troops as "a tactical retreat."
Konashenkov had given a briefing earlier Friday in which he described Russian forces making advances and repelling Ukrainian forces, killing and wounding 900 troops in the Donetsk area.
Prigozhin said the attempts of the Defense Ministry to smooth over or sugarcoat the situation would lead to a great tragedy for Russia. He called on the ministry directly, saying that "you must stop lying immediately."
Ukrainian advances
Ukrainian military commanders have said this week that their troops have recaptured territory around Bakhmut. In a Telegram post on Friday, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar confirmed that Ukrainian forces were gaining ground near the city.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address Friday that he met with the country’s top military commanders earlier in the day. He said that General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of ground forces, reported his troops "stopped the enemy and even pushed him back in some directions."
Zelenskyy also said that Russian troops are suffering from low morale.
"The occupiers are already mentally prepared for defeat. They have already lost this war in their minds," he said.
In Washington, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that Bakhmut remains contested territory.
"Ukrainians have not given up their defense of Bakhmut and the Russians haven’t given up their attempts to take Bakhmut," Kirby said.
"Every single day, the lines change back and forth. I mean, sometimes block by block," he said.
Counteroffensive and grain
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Friday there was no news to report on the status of restarting the grain deal that allows commodities to be shipped from Ukrainian ports to Africa and other areas with food shortages.
During his regular phone briefing with reporters, Peskov said talks in Istanbul involving Turkish, Russian, Ukrainian and United Nations officials continued, and there were no new decisions for an extension to the deal that is set to expire Wednesday.
Turkey said later Friday that the sides were nearing an agreement.
"We are heading toward an agreement on the extension of the grain deal," Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said in a statement.
Zelenskyy said in an interview Thursday with European broadcasters that Kyiv is delaying the start of the counteroffensive against Russia because it lacks enough Western weapons to succeed without suffering too many casualties.
Zelenskyy said it's possible that "we can go forward and be successful," the BBC reported.
"But we'd lose a lot of people. I think that's unacceptable," he was quoted as saying. "So, we need to wait. We still need a bit more time. ... In terms of equipment, not everything has arrived yet."
Ukraine's preparations for a counteroffensive received an important boost Thursday when Britain announced it was supplying long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine, giving Kyiv the capability to hit Russian troops well behind the front lines.
British Defense Minister Ben Wallace confirmed to British lawmakers that the United Kingdom will donate Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine.
"The use of Storm Shadow will allow Ukraine to push back Russian forces based within Ukrainian sovereign territory," he said without specifying how many are being delivered.
Storm Shadow missiles, which have a range of more than 250 kilometers, would give Ukraine the capacity to strike deep behind Russian front lines — as far as Moscow-occupied Crimea.
British media reports said Kyiv had promised, though, not to use the missiles to strike inside Russia's territory.
The Kremlin threatened "appropriate" measures in response to London's move.
"It will demand an appropriate response from our military that will definitely make the decisions required in military terms," spokesperson Peskov told reporters.
Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and the Agence France-Presse.
