The owner of the Russian company Wagner, accused by the West of using mercenaries in combats in various parts of the world, specifically in Ukraine, Yevgeny Prigozhin, predicted that the war could drag on for several years.
In a video interview published on Friday, Yevgeny Prigozhin predicted that it could take 18 months to two years for Russia to secure full control of eastern Ukraine’s industrial heartland, Donbass.
The businessman added that the war could last three years if Moscow decides to capture larger territories east of the Dnieper river.
The statement by Prigozhin, a millionaire who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and was nicknamed Putin’s ‘chef’ for his lucrative catering deals for the Kremlin, signaled recognition of the difficulties Moscow faced in the campaign, which it was initially expected to last for weeks, when Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Russia suffered a series of humiliating setbacks in the fall, when the Ukrainian military launched successful counteroffensives to recapture wide swaths of territory in the east and south.
The Kremlin avoided making any predictions about how long the fighting might continue, saying what it called a “special military operation” would continue until its goals were met.
Ukrainian and Western officials have warned that Russia could launch a new broad offensive to try to turn the tide of the conflict as the war nears the one-year mark.
But Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andriy Chernyak told the Kyiv Post that “the Russian command does not have enough resources for large-scale offensive actions.”
“The main goal of the Russian troops remains to achieve at least some tactical success in eastern Ukraine,” Chernyak said.
Prigozhin said in the interview that Wagner Group personnel continue to engage in disputed battles for control of the Ukrainian Bakhmut fortress in the Donetsk region and acknowledged that Ukrainian troops were holding up fierce resistance.
As Russian troops advance their attacks in the Donbass, Moscow is also seeking to demoralize the Ukrainians by leaving them without heat and water in what has been a bitter winter.
On Friday, Russia launched the 14th round of massive attacks against Ukraine’s power facilities and other vital infrastructure.
High-voltage infrastructure facilities were affected in the eastern, western, and southern regions, causing power outages in some areas.
Ukraine’s energy company, Ukrenergo, said today that the situation was “difficult but manageable,” adding that it involved “backups” to maintain power supply, but noted that rationing in electricity supply will continue in some areas.
Ukraine’s military chief, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said Russian forces had launched 71 cruise missiles, 35 S-300 missiles and seven drones. [aparelhos aéreos não-tripulados] Shahed between Thursday afternoon and Friday noon, adding that Ukrainian air defenses had shot down 61 cruise missiles and five drones.
Source: TSF
