Wagner Group financier claims untruthfully that his PMC has killed Ukrainian Territorial Defence commander

Yevgeny Prigozhin, commander of the Wagner Group private military company (PMC), has claimed that militants from his PMC destroyed an armoured vehicle while Major General Ihor Tantsiura, commander of the Territorial Defence Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, was inside it. According to Ukrainska Pravda sources in the military, this is a lie.

Source: Prigozhin’s Telegram channel; informed sources of Ukrainska Pravda in the military

Quote: "At 13:25 today, artillery units of Wagner PMC destroyed an armoured vehicle believed to be carrying Ihor Tantsiura, commander of the Territorial Defence Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, during the transfer of reserves from the settlement of Chasiv Yar to the settlement of Bakhmut." [Prigozhin pronounced his last name as "Sansura" which could have been either a mere slip, or a result of his speech impediment – ed.]

Details: Prigozhin claimed that Tantsiura was heading to the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast. He added that this information is being clarified.

However, Ukrainska Pravda sources in the military stated that "this information is not true".

In particular, Territorial Defence Spokesman Denys Zelenskyi said in a comment to Ukrainska Pravda that everyone in the ranks of the Armed Forces is "alive and well".

Background: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed Major General Ihor Ivanovich Tantsiura as the commander of the Territorial Defence Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on 15 May 2022.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!