The head of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, offered Ukrainian military intelligence to transfer information about the positions of Russian troops, which could be used to attack them. In exchange, he asked the Ukrainian command to withdraw their soldiers from the area around Bakhmut. This is reported by The Washington Post, citing leaked US intelligence documents.
According to the documents, Prigozhin conveyed this proposal to his contacts in the military intelligence department of Ukraine, with whom he maintained secret communications during the war,
Two Ukrainian officials confirmed to the publication that Prigozhin spoke several times with the Ukrainian intelligence department. One of the officials said that Prigozhin had repeatedly made an offer regarding Bakhmut, but Kyiv had rejected it because the officials did not trust Prigozhin and considered his proposals insincere.
The US official also told the publication that Washington doubted the sincerity of Prigozhin's intentions. Ukrainian and American officials communicated on condition of anonymity to discuss this sensitive information.
Kyiv suspects the Kremlin is aware of Prigozhin's dealings with Ukrainian intelligence, the leak says.
In an interview with The Washington Post this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not confirm contact with Prigozhin. “This is a [military] intelligence matter,” he said. Later, The Washington Post removed from the interview a fragment in which the journalist asked the President of Ukraine about the contacts of her intelligence with Prigozhin.
Prigozhin has repeatedly complained that the Wagner PMC lacks shells and equipment, which is why the mercenaries "practically cannot cover the military with fire." In addition, he said that the capture of Bakhmut himself would not give Russia anything if he was surrounded, and offered to "stop lying" because this could lead to "a global tragedy for Russia."