On Saturday, the leader of the Russian Special Fighters Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said in a video clip on the “Telegram” platform, that “Wagner” will seek, after the battle of Bakhmut, to become “an army with an ideological background.”
The battle of Bakhmut in Donetsk province continued for months, while the Ukrainian army decided to continue fighting despite successive indications that were not in its favor on the field, according to the American “Newsweek” magazine.
And on Saturday, the Ukrainian army confirmed that the Russian forces had not stopped their attacks in Bakhmut, while the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said that the Russian army was gradually making gains in Bakhmut.
Western reports speak of heavy losses among the Russian army and the “Wagner” group, during the battles trying to control Bakhmut.
The American Studies Center stated that “after the completion of the Battle of Bakhmut, the Russian group will restructure its ranks to become a parallel military organization with a well-established doctrine, in order to have a special role in Ukraine.”
Recruitment and youth
Prigozhin indicated that some of the elements who were recruited will be dismissed from their services at a later time, while others will be recruited.
The American report stated that the “Wagner” group focuses on recruiting young fighters in particular, in an effort to join them in a parallel military organization that adopts a Russian nationalist ideology described as extremist.
Earlier, former US General Mark Hertling said that the increasing presence of private military companies in Ukraine would herald unrest in Russia if the government’s grip weakened.
These reports about the future of “Wagner” come at a time when the leader of the combat group had criticized Ministry of Defense officials openly and publicly because they did not provide the required supplies on the battlefield.
Prigozhin’s statements were seen as an indication of the existence of a competition between “Wagner” and the Russian army, while the ongoing military operations in Ukraine remain far from what Moscow was betting on, when it launched the attack on February 24, 2022.
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