Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian private army Wagner Group, attends the funeral of the slain Russian military blogger Tatarsky at the Troyekurovskoye cemetery. © picture alliance/dpa/AP
In the Ukraine war, Wagner boss Prigozhin does not see a favorable prognosis for Russia. Even with further mobilization, hardly any territorial gains are to be expected.
Moscow (Russia) - "They will restore the pre-2014 borders, and this can easily happen," said the head of the Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin in a debate with blogger Konstantin Dolgovn. His statements were analyzed by Ukrainian-born journalist Julia Davis on Twitter. In a "surreal" interview, Prigozhin outlined several scenarios for the outcome of the Ukraine war. He therefore considered a pessimistic scenario for Russia to be more likely.
"They will attack the Crimea, they will try to blow up the Crimean bridge, cut off the supply routes. Most likely, this scenario will not be good for us. Therefore, we must prepare for a difficult war," he said, according to Newsweek.com. Ukraine could very easily "regain territory" or "make up ground" in the announced offensive.
Ukraine war: Wagner boss draws different scenarios for Russia - all look bad
The "optimistic" scenario presented by Prigozhin would therefore assume that Ukraine's Western allies would no longer support the country. They would have to be war-weary after providing billions of dollars in weapons to the military in Kyiv. Then, in Prigozhin's prognosis, Ukraine would agree to negotiations.
But here, too, Prigozhin is pessimistic about Vladimir Putin's Russia: even in this scenario, according to Prigozhin, the Kremlin would only keep the territory that is currently in the hands of its soldiers.
Ukraine war: These are the proposals for Russia of the notorious Wagner boss
Prigozhin said Moscow should declare martial law, mobilize troops in new waves, and allocate resources and funds exclusively to the war effort. This includes the production of ammunition. This is the only way to avert a very pessimistic scenario.
Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Minister Lavrov rails against the possible deliveries of F16 fighter jets by Ukraine's Western allies - you can read all developments in our news ticker on the Ukraine war. (kat)
