MOSCOW: The chief of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner on Saturday asked Moscow to let him hand over his positions in the hotspot city of Bakhmut to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.
“I ask you to issue a combat order before 00:00 on May 10 concerning the transfer of the positions of the Wagner paramilitary units in Bakhmut and its periphery, to the units of the Akhmat battalion” Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a letter to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
The Akhmat battalion refers to the Chechen combat units under the command of strongman Kadyrov, who has ruled Russia’s Muslim-majority republic Chechnya for the last decade and a half.
Prigozhin said his fighters would be forced to pull out because of a long “ammunition famine.”
He accused the Russian defense ministry of only delivering 32 percent of the required ammunition since October 2022.
Wagner fighters are leading the battle for Bakhmut, during which rivalries between Prigozhin and the conventional army have come to the surface.
On Friday, the Wagner leader threatened to pull out in a series of scathing videos attacking Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
Kadyrov on Friday said on Telegram that his fighters were “ready to advance and occupy the city.”
He praised Wagner units, saying both groups had fought side by side in the “most difficult” battles of Popasna, Severodonetsk and Lysychansk.
In a message earlier on Saturday, Prigozhin thanked Kadyrov for his offer and said Chechen forces would “no doubt” seize Bakhmut.
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Wagner chief asks Moscow to hand Bakhmut positions to Chechen forces
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Wagner chief asks Moscow to hand Bakhmut positions to Chechen forces
- The Akhmat battalion refers to the Chechen combat units under the command of strongman Kadyrov
- Prigozhin said his fighters would be forced to pull out because of a long "ammunition famine"
US Homeland Security to pause two key travel programs amid shutdown, Washington Post says
- DHS began a partial shutdown last week after Republicans and Democrats failed to reach a deal on immigration enforcement reforms
The US Department of Homeland Security will temporarily suspend from Sunday its PreCheck and Global Entry programs that speed airport security checks for some travelers, the Washington Post said, due to a shutdown at much of the agency.
The halt in the programs run by the DHS will begin from 6 a.m. ET (1100 GMT), the newspaper cited an agency spokesperson as saying on Saturday.
DHS began a partial shutdown last week after Republicans and Democrats failed to reach a deal on immigration enforcement reforms.
The pause in programs is among the emergency measures DHS is taking to redirect staffing more than a week after Congress failed to send it more money, the paper said.
The agency is “making tough but necessary workforce and resource decisions” and prioritizing the “general traveling population” at entry points, the paper cited Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as saying in a statement.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
TSA’s PreCheck program allows approved passengers through a dedicated, faster security lane at US airports and is designed to reduce wait times and streamline screening.
Global Entry expedites US customs and immigration clearance for pre-approved, low-risk international travelers entering the United States.
On Thursday, the Trump administration ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a part of the DHS, to suspend the deployment of hundreds of aid workers to disaster-affected areas, due to the DHS shutdown.
The halt in the programs run by the DHS will begin from 6 a.m. ET (1100 GMT), the newspaper cited an agency spokesperson as saying on Saturday.
DHS began a partial shutdown last week after Republicans and Democrats failed to reach a deal on immigration enforcement reforms.
The pause in programs is among the emergency measures DHS is taking to redirect staffing more than a week after Congress failed to send it more money, the paper said.
The agency is “making tough but necessary workforce and resource decisions” and prioritizing the “general traveling population” at entry points, the paper cited Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as saying in a statement.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
TSA’s PreCheck program allows approved passengers through a dedicated, faster security lane at US airports and is designed to reduce wait times and streamline screening.
Global Entry expedites US customs and immigration clearance for pre-approved, low-risk international travelers entering the United States.
On Thursday, the Trump administration ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a part of the DHS, to suspend the deployment of hundreds of aid workers to disaster-affected areas, due to the DHS shutdown.
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