A conflict that will continue to prolong? The head of Russia’s Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said in an interview that the conquest of Donetsk and Lugansk, two territories in eastern Ukraine, could take two years, Reuters reported on Saturday. A rare statement about the ambitions of the Russian camp regarding the invasion of Ukraine.
“If I understood correctly, we must destroy the Donetsk and Lugansk Republics and, in principle, that should suit everyone,” the head of the mercenary group said in a video interview with Simon Pegov, a Russian military blogger.
However, this conquest should not be done without difficulty, since Evgeny Prigokhine estimates that it should take at least a year and a half, even two years or even more. “If we have to go to Dnipro (city in central Ukraine, editor’s note), then it will take three years,” he says.
The Donetsk and Lugansk regions remain a major target for Vladimir Putin, according to the US think tank Institute For the Study of War (ISW), which indicates that Russia is preparing a major offensive in these territories.
The city of Bakhmout as a target
Yevgeny Prigojine discussed the situation on the ground and the ambitions of Vladimir Putin’s army, as the first anniversary of the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine approaches. According to him, Moscow must capture the city of Bakhmout.
“It is probably too early to say that we are close (to completely capturing this town),” he said, referring in particular to the “well-trained” Ukrainian troops. “We are doing very well,” he says, however.
He also mentioned the possibility of transferring a senior officer to the front, believing that it would be appreciated “in the present situation”. “The soldiers would just be happy and amazed,” he said, suggesting that the troops are experiencing a difficult daily life.
a sulfurous businessman
Former criminal, then sulfurous businessman, the head of the Wagner group publicly admitted last September that he had founded the group of Russian mercenaries, considered by the United States as an international criminal organization.
The Wagner paramilitary group, created in 2014, has recruited thousands of detainees to fight in Ukraine alongside Kremlin men. Evgeny Prigokhine said on Thursday that he had put an end to these recruitments.
The paramilitary group is experiencing increasing influence with the conflict in Ukraine. In particular, he played a significant role in the capture of the Ukrainian town of Soledar, the first success for Russian forces in several months.
Source: BFM TV
