The owner of the Russian company Wagner, accused by the West of using mercenaries in battles in different parts of the world, especially in Ukraine, Yevgeny Prigozhin, predicted that the war could drag on for several years.
In a video interview released Friday, Yevgeny Prigozhin predicted it could take 18 months to two years for Russia to secure full control of Donbass, Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland.
The businessman added that the war could last three years if Moscow decides to seize larger areas east of the Dnieper River.
The statement of Prigozhin, a millionaire with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and nicknamed chief of Putin for his lucrative contracts of catering industry for the Kremlin, it meant acknowledging the difficulties Moscow faced during the campaign, which it initially expected would 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 army launched successful counter-offensives to reclaim large swaths of territory in the east and south.
The Kremlin avoided predictions about how long the fighting could continue, saying what it called a “special military operation” would continue until its objectives were met.
Ukrainian and Western officials have warned that Russia could launch another wide-ranging offensive to try to turn the tide of the conflict as the war drags on for nearly a year.
But Ukraine’s 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 objective of the Russian forces remains to achieve at least some tactical success in eastern Ukraine,” Chernyak said.
Prigozhin said in the interview that Wagner Group personnel continue to participate in contested battles for control of the Ukrainian fortress of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region and acknowledged that Ukrainian forces put up stiff resistance.
No light and heating
While Russian troops continue their attacks in Donbass, Moscow is also trying to demoralize the Ukrainians by leaving them without heat and without water in a bitter winter.
On Friday, Russia launched its 14th round of massive attacks against Ukrainian energy facilities and other vital infrastructure.
High-voltage infrastructure installations were affected in the eastern, western and southern regions, causing power outages in some areas.
Ukraine’s energy company Ukrenergo said on Saturday that the situation was “difficult but manageable”. backups to maintain power supply, but bearing in mind that electricity rationing 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 Shahed drones between late Thursday and Friday afternoon, adding that Ukraine’s air defense had shot down 61 cruise missiles and five drones.
Source: DN
