Wagner boss Prigozhin repeatedly sharply criticizes the conduct of the war. Now he paints a gloomy picture of the future in Russia.
Moscow - Yevgeny Prigozhin is known for his clear words. For months, the head of the notorious Wagner Group has been loudly ranting about the Russian military leadership and, above all, repeatedly sharply attacking the Ministry of Defense. In an interview, the 61-year-old has now gone one step further. In it, he painted the future of Russia in gloomy colors. In fact, Prigozhin now even sees the danger of a revolution.
Prigozhin referred to social inequality, which has been exacerbated by the Ukraine war. While the sons of ordinary civilians would return from the front in coffins, the children of the elite would pursue their pleasures and sunbathe abroad. Sooner or later, therefore, there could be unrest: "This can end with a revolution, as in 1917," Prigozhin said. "First the soldiers will rise, then their families. There are now tens of thousands of relatives of killed fighters. There will probably be hundreds of thousands. You can't hide that."
Wagner boss Prigozhin warns of defeat in the Ukraine war - and of a revolution in Russia. (Archive photo) © IMAGO/Press service of Prigozhin
Prigozhin gives figures on Wagner Group's losses in the Ukraine war for the first time
In this context, Prigozhin estimated his own losses in the battle for Bakhmut at around 20,000 fighters killed, half of whom were recruited 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, of whom about 20 percent were killed," Prigozhin said. Among the professional Wagner mercenaries, the death rate is similarly high. The information cannot be independently verified. Experts assume that the death toll is even higher. At the G7 summit in Hiroshima, US President Joe Biden spoke of more than 100,000 dead and wounded on the Russian side.
In any case, Prigozhin no longer wants to rule out Russia's defeat in the Ukraine war. "We must prepare for a very serious war." In order for Russia not to lose, it must declare a state of war and switch the economy to the production of ammunition. "We should start new mobilizations," he said. Everyone should work only for the war.
Prigozhin again recalled the numerous defeats of the Russian armed forces, which had "made their pants" in front of Kiev and in Kherson and then took off. The 61-year-old also said that it was not he who started the "special military operation", but others. Vladimir Putin had ordered the war on February 24, 2022. At the same time, Prigozhin said that the struggle that had just begun had to be brought to an end.
Prigozhin praises Ukrainian army as one of the best in the world
Once again, Prigozhin also commented on the Kremlin's war goal of "demilitarizing" Ukraine. Kyiv today has much more and heavier weapons and more combat personnel than before the war. In reality, Russia has "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 reconnaissance, they have various weapons. They work equally successfully with all systems - Soviet or Nato."
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On the other hand, he again criticized the Russian Ministry of Defense, which provided the Wagner army with neither sufficient ammunition nor requested personnel. Prigozhin said that the entire Donbass could be conquered today if he had received the 200,000 requested soldiers as reinforcements. Today, Wagner has 6000,600 men who could lead a company. They could control an army of 000,<> soldiers.
Revolution in Russia? Putin's critic thinks Prigozhin's analysis is correct
Prigozhin also commented on the attack by two militias on the Belgorod region of Russia, which was claimed by two Russian groups directed against President Vladimir Putin - "Freedom for Russia" and the "Russian Volunteer Corps". The head of Wagner stated that the Russian border with Ukraine is not sufficiently protected. "Sabotage groups calmly pass through the Belgorod region," Prigozhin said.
Putin critic Ilya Ponomarev, the political representative of the rebels, used the opportunity for his own purposes. According to Ponomarev, Prigozhin is a clever analyst of what is really happening in Russia, and the Wagner boss is "exactly right" with his prediction of a looming revolution. When asked about the lack of previous evidence of popular resistance in Russia, he replied that Lenin had said in January 1917 that he doubted that his generation would live to see the overthrow of the tsarist regime, "and that was less than a month before the revolution began." (cs/dpa)