Ukraine war: Wagner boss rubbishes Russian claims of Ukrainian casualties

A fresh row has broken out between the Wagner Group and the Russian military, as long-simmering tension between the groups threatens to spill over.

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin dismissed Russia’s claims to have inflicted heavy losses on Ukraine in the Donbas when Kyiv attempted offensive action.

Prigozhin said the claims were “simply wild and absurd science fiction”.

But Russia’s defence ministry doubled down on the claims on Tuesday, saying Ukraine suffered over 3,700 casualties.

Russia said the attack was part of a Ukrainian “long-promised offensive” in the Donetsk region, which took place over Sunday and Monday.

Ukraine’s military said on Monday that it had no information about a major attack in the region, and that it wouldn’t comment on claims it called “fake”.

Speaking to state media, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu insisted that his forces had inflicted over 3,715 casualties on Ukraine during the attack and destroyed dozens of pieces of military equipment.