Putin’s Ally Says War in Ukraine Backfired, Moscow ‘Unprepared’


Last Updated: May 25, 2023, 12:24 IST

This video grab shows Yevgeny Prigozhin holding a Russian national flag in front of his soldiers holding Wagner Group’s flags in Bakhmut, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)

Yevgeny Prigozhin also praised the capabilities of the Ukrainian army and urged Moscow to escalate its war effort if it wants to avoid a long and costly conflict

Russia’s Wagner group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has claimed that the country could see a new revolution if the poor war effort continues in Ukraine.

Prigozhin’s comments come as the Wagner chief has recently been critical of Russian military ranks amid battle in Bakhmut and has accused the senior Moscow officials of not supplying arms and aid to soldiers on the frontline.

Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an interview with a pro-Russian blogger said that Moscow’s troops are unprepared to resist forces loyal to Kyiv even when they enter Russian territory.

He also praised the capabilities of the Ukrainian army and urged Moscow to escalate its war effort if it wants to avoid a long and costly conflict.

“I believe Ukrainians today are one of the strongest armies in the world,” Prigozhin said.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose influence has risen hugely during the more than year-long offensive, has scathingly criticised Russia’s top brass, accusing them of being responsible for huge losses. He also has questioned their tactics, commitment and leadership capabilities, and complained they haven’t sufficiently credited his forces for battlefield successes.

He called Ukrainian forces “highly organized, highly trained and their intelligence is on the highest level, they can operate any military system with equal success, a Soviet or a NATO one.”

In recent days Moscow has suffered embarrassment when a group of anti-Putin Russians entered the Belgorod region in an incursion that caused anger and confusion among Russia’s influential military analysts.

Asked about the incident, The Wanger chief said Russian defense forces are “absolutely not ready to resist them in any shape or form.”

Prigozhin, a businessman close to President Vladimir Putin, has slammed the Russian elites, saying their children live comfortably while men from impoverished regions die in Ukraine. Prigozhin said his fighters will pull out of the destroyed city by June 1 and transfer control to the Russian army.

In the recent months, Prigozhin has frequently criticized Russia’s military hierarchy as he sought to win a power struggle against military commanders to lead Putin’s ground effort in eastern Ukraine.

Earlier this month, he blamed Russian defense chiefs for “tens of thousands” of Wagner casualties because they didn’t have enough ammunition.

After winning Bakhmut, he claimed that he’s lost more than 20,000 men in the battle and added that about half of those who died in the eastern Ukrainian city were Russian convicts recruited for the 15-month-old war.

Russian forces, primarily made up of private Wagner mercenary forces, have labored for months over the capture of Bakhmut, where Russia suffered heavy losses.

The White House estimated this month that Russian forces had suffered 100,000 casualties, including 20,000 killed in fighting, since December. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said then that about half of those killed were Wagner forces.

(With inputs from agencies)



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