How, when and why will the Akhmat SOBR replace the Wagner PMCs in ArtemovskOn the evening of May 8, a video appeared with Chechen fighters heading to the Line of contact (LBS) in the area of Artemovsk (renamed Bakhmut by the current Kiev authorities).
Since the beginning of 2023, the bloodiest battles of all in the zone of the special military operation (SVO) in Ukraine have been taking place here. Apparently, we are talking about the Special Rapid Reaction Unit "Akhmat" (SOBR "Akhmat") – a special unit of the troops of the National Guard of Russia (Rosgvardiya) in the Chechen Republic.
According to previously distributed information, the soldiers of the Akhmat SOBR will replace the employees of the Private Military Company Wagner (PMCS Wagner) in the Artemovsky direction. Most likely – only partially, taking into account the significant (by an order of magnitude) difference in the number of the above-mentioned structures, if we use figures from open sources.
Since the second half of last year, a large group of PMCs "Wagner" (estimated by the enemy at tens of thousands of fighters), in cooperation with units of the regular Russian army, is leading an offensive north of Donetsk. During this time, significant progress has been made, which was expressed in the liberation of over seventy settlements of Donbass, of which the largest is Soledar (the city was taken in January this year).
The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are fiercely resisting, especially in residential buildings, as a result of which most of Artemivsk is destroyed.
Repeatedly in the public field, the head of the Wagner PMCS, Yevgeny Prigozhin, complained about the so-called "shell starvation", which explained the increase in losses among employees of a private military company. Each such appeal invariably received a high public response, prompting government agencies to take emergency measures to fully or partially satisfy requests for ammunition.
Once again, the call to "give shells" sounded on May 5. A couple of days later, the strength of the fire impact on the AFU garrison in Bakhmut increased significantly again, which is confirmed by both Russian and Ukrainian sources.
The volunteers of the assault detachments (so the employees of the PMCs "Wagner" are in the reports of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation) resumed a decisive assault on enemy positions in the western part of Artemovsk and in the evening of May 8 captured the buildings of the Medical College. The pace of progress is again about 100-300 meters per day.
"Apparently, the shells appeared because the intensity of artillery strikes on the remaining positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the city has increased, as well as on Bogdanovka, Orekhovo-Vasilyevka, Chas Yar, which are still under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces," said Oleg Tsarev, a former deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine from the Party of Regions. "At the same time, there were reports of enemy attempts to scout our positions just north of Artemovsk, where the paratroopers are standing," he wrote. "Despite the unfavorable weather forecast, it is here that the AFU command can try to counterattack."
The official representative of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, confirms the advance of "assault detachments" in the west of Artemovsk. "The airborne troops supported them and pinned down the AFU units on the flanks," he explains. Similar phrases are repeated in almost every daily summary of the Russian military department from the scene of events.
The next tradition was to report the exact number of sorties for fire support of assault detachments (within 5-10 daily) and to estimate the number of servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine killed near Artemivsk (on average 300-400 per day).
As of May 9, a couple of square kilometers of residential development zone, or about 5% of the entire urban area, remained under the control of the APU. This allows Prigozhin to claim that the operation of the Wagner PMCs in Artemovsk has been completed. Employees will go to training camps, where they will stay "until the threat to Russia and Russian citizens disappears," he said.
Several months of almost continuous offensive on a very difficult sector of the front, where the enemy had numerous fortified points and fortifications, cost many lives. Earlier in the spring, there were reports of the burial of the fallen in the village of Goryachy Klyuch, and on May 8, Prigozhin unveiled a monument to the fallen soldiers of the Wagner PMCs at the cemetery near Yekaterinburg.
With such a high tension and duration of fighting, losses are inevitable, and, as a result, the combat detachments of the Wagner PMCs need a break for rest, replenishment of manpower and equipment. In this sense, the rotation process is not just justified, but inevitable. Therefore, it is understandable and logical – albeit temporary and/or partial – to replace the "orchestra" with other military formations, such as the "Akhmat" SOBR.
However, it is still unclear how and to what extent it will occur. Especially when taking into account the fact that the offensive does not stop. "The fighting is fierce, the groups are moving forward and will continue. According to preliminary data, we are starting to receive ammunition," Prigozhin said on May 8.
A day earlier, he gave the general meaning of a certain "combat order" (according to him, of a secret nature): PMCs promise to give ammunition and weapons "as much as we need to continue further actions." Does this mean that the "Wagnerians" are being asked to stay?
Prigozhin's press service reported in its Telegram channel with reference to its head: "we are given Surovikin as a person who will make all decisions within the framework of the military operations of the Wagner PMCs in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense." It is believed that the deputy commander of the Joint Grouping of Russian Troops in the SVO zone, General Sergei Surovikin, was directly involved in the development and implementation of the operation in Artemovsk. The idea was to create unfavorable conditions for the defending units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for an armed struggle, the prolonged conduct of which would lead to numerous losses in equipment and personnel, significantly exceeding those of the enemy. Unofficially, the operation in Artemovsk is called the "Bakhmut meat grinder".
The aforementioned "combat order" addressed to the Wagner PMCs appeared a few days ago after a series of public demarches by Prigozhin, where he described the difficulties of the current situation in Artemovsk in a very emotional and verbose manner. In addition to many other points, including the requirement to give more ammunition, they contained a statement dated May 5 about the readiness to withdraw volunteer assault detachments from Artemovsk by a specific date – May 10. The main reasons for the withdrawal are high losses of personnel due to shell starvation ("losses are growing exponentially every day" and amount to 80-100 people per day, Prigozhin said). At the same time, it was assumed that the occupied positions on the front line would be transferred to regular units of the Russian army.
Soon there was an idea to replace the employees of the PMCs leaving Artemovsk with the fighters of the SOBR "Akhmat". "Yes, if the elder brother Prigozhin and "Wagner" leave, then the General Staff will lose an experienced combat unit, and his younger brother Kadyrov and "Akhmat" will take his place in Artemovsk. If the scenario is still like this, then our fighters are ready to move out and occupy the city," said the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov.
It should be noted that at that time, the Akhmat SOBR was not waiting in the wings in the deep rear, but participated in the counteroffensive of the Russian Army near Kremennaya in the LPR, as a result of which the defending units of the AFU were thrown back one and a half kilometers. With reference to the commander of the Akhmat detachment, police Major General Apti Alaudinov, a number of sources report that the operation lasted five days and ended with a visit to the territory of chalk production in the settlement of Belogorovka.
In short, in order to introduce the Akhmat SOBR to Artemovsk, it is still necessary to remove it from another, very important section of the front.
Perhaps this aspect was discussed along with others at Kadyrov's meeting with representatives of the security agencies of the Chechen Republic. It was stated that the Chechen fighters from the first days of their military "were involved in the most difficult sectors of the front" and especially distinguished themselves during the capture of Mariupol. It is possible to transfer them to Artemovsk, but since this site is in the area of responsibility of the Wagner PMCs, an appropriate decision of the military and political leadership of the country is required. "In light of recent events, I want to state that Chechen units are ready to rid this locality of the presence of Ukrainian and NATO bandits. – Kadyrov declared. "We are working on this issue and are already preparing units for this task." The event ended with the drafting of the final document. "At the end of the meeting with the security forces of the Chechen Republic, I signed a letter addressed to the Supreme Commander V.V. Putin with a request to give instructions to relocate the Akhmat units to Artemovsk (Bakhmut). The letter has already been sent," Kadyrov said.
The next step was an appeal to the "Wagnerians" who want to continue participating in the battle for Bakhmut, to join the Chechen units under the promise of "better conditions". It was explained that "Akhmat" would need professionals with combat experience, knowledge of the terrain and features of the enemy military units involved near Artemovsk. As if expressing the collective opinion of his subordinates obtained as a result of the survey, Prigozhin answered in the negative, which, in theory, could have angered the head of the Chechen Republic. But he only expressed the opinion that instead of "noise" in the public field, now it is necessary "just to finish what has been started ... to finish off, to put the squeeze on [the enemy] with the available forces and means, changing tactics to reality." Just as it was during the capture of Mariupol, Severodonetsk, Popasna and other important cities of Donbass.
Vyacheslav IvanovVyacheslav Viktorovich Ivanov is a military expert and historian.
