Wagner boss Prigozchin repeatedly sharply criticizes the conduct of the war. Now he paints a bleak picture of the future in Russia.
Moscow – Yevgeny Prigozhin is known for his clear words. For months, the head of the notorious scolded Wagner group loudly about the Russian military leadership and repeatedly sharply attacks the Ministry of Defence. in one interview the 61-year-old has now followed up again. In it he painted the future of Russia in sombre colors. In fact, Prigozhin now even sees the danger of a revolution.
Prigozhin referred to the social inequality caused by the Ukraine war had been reinforced. While the sons of ordinary civilians returned from the front in coffins, the children of the elite went about their business and sunbathed abroad. Sooner or later there could therefore be unrest: “It can end with a revolution like in 1917,” said Prigozhin. “First the soldiers will rise, then their families. There are now tens of thousands of relatives of killed fighters. It will likely be hundreds of thousands. You can’t hide that.”
For the first time, Prigozhin gives figures on Wagner Group losses in the Ukraine war
In this context, Prigozhin quantified his own losses at the Battle of Bakhmut around 20,000 fighters killed, half of whom are recruits from prisons. It is the first time that the Wagner boss has commented on the extent of the losses for his troops. “I selected 50,000 prisoners, about 20 percent of whom were killed,” Prigozhin said. The death rate is similarly high among professional Wagner mercenaries. The information cannot be independently verified. Experts assume that the number of deaths will be even higher. US President Joe Biden had spoken of more than 100,000 dead and wounded on the Russian side at the G7 summit in Hiroshima.
In any case, Prigozhin no longer wants to rule out a Russian defeat in the Ukraine war. “We must prepare for a very serious war.” With that Russia not lose, it must declare a state of war and convert the economy to the production of ammunition. “We should initiate new mobilizations,” he said. All should only work for the war.
Prigozhin recalled the numerous defeats of the Russian armed forces before Kyiv and in Cherson “wet their pants” and then fled. The 61-year-old also said that he did not start the “military special operation”, but others. Wladimir Putin had ordered the war on February 24, 2022. At the same time, Prigozhin said that the struggle that had just begun must be brought to an end.
Prigozhin praises Ukrainian army as one of the best in the world
Prigozhin once again commented on the Kremlin’s war goal of “demilitarizing” the Ukraine. Kiev today has many more and heavier weapons and more combat personnel than before the war. Russia has in fact “militarized” Ukraine. Prigozhin even praised the Ukrainian army as one of the best in the world. “They have a high level of organization, a high level of training, a high level of intelligence, they have different weapons. They work with all systems – Soviet or from the Nato – equally successful.”
On the other hand, he again criticized the Russian Ministry of Defense for not providing the Wagner army with sufficient ammunition or the required personnel. Prigozhin believed that the entire Donbass could be conquered today if he had received the 200,000 soldiers requested as reinforcements. Today Wagner has 6,000 men who could lead a company. You could therefore control an army of 600,000 soldiers.
Revolution in Russia? Putin critic believes Prigozhin’s analysis is correct
Prigozhin also commented on that Attack by two militias on the Russian region of Belgorodjoined by two Russian, against President Wladimir Putin directed groups – the “Freedom for Russia” and the “Russian Volunteer Corps”. The Wagner boss explained that the Russian border with Ukraine was not sufficiently protected. “Sabotage groups are calmly passing through the Belgorod region,” said Prigozhin.
Putin critic Ilya Ponomarev, the political representative of the rebels, used the opportunity for his own purposes. Prigozhin is a smart analyst of what is really happening in Russia, according to Ponomarev, with his prediction of an impending revolution, the Wagner boss is “exactly right”. When asked about the lack of previous evidence of popular resistance in Russia, he replied that Lenin said in January 1917 that he doubted his generation would live to see the fall of the tsarist regime, “and that was less than a month before the revolution began”. (cs/dpa)
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