The Kremlin, instead of the goal of demilitarizing Ukraine declared in February 2022, has achieved the opposite effect, and the Ukrainian army has become one of the strongest in the world. This was stated by the founder of Wagner PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin in an interview with Russian political consultant Konstantin Dolgov. Prigozhin reported heavy PMC losses and sharply criticized Russian Ukrainian policy.
According to the founder of the PMC, the actions of the Russian army did not lead to the results that the Kremlin had hoped for. Thus, the “denazification” announced by the Kremlin (the fight against the “Nazi regime”, which the Kremlin calls the government of Vladimir Zelensky) made a nation out of Ukrainians, “which is known to everyone all over the world.”
Speaking of “demilitarization”, Prigozhin called the Ukrainian army the strongest in the world – after the Wagner PMC. “They have a high level of organization, a high level of training, a high level of intelligence, they have various weapons, and moreover, they work on any systems, Soviet, NATO, whatever, equally successful,” the businessman said.
Prigozhin also noted that the illiterate actions of Russia played a role in strengthening the combat potential of Ukraine. The businessman also suggested that “everything could end like in 1917 (civil war – approx. RS)”, and that first Russian soldiers, and then their relatives, could rise up.
Russia, according to the businessman, needs martial law, new waves of mobilization and a certain number of years to live “in the image of North Korea.”
Commenting on the participation of Wagner PMC in the war against Ukraine, Prigozhin said that since the beginning of the invasion, his formation had lost 20,000 mercenaries, half of whom were prisoners. In total, 50 thousand people were recruited from the colonies, according to the businessman.
According to the American Center for Strategic and International Studies, at the end of February, Russia has lost at least 60 thousand people killed, including mercenaries. The US National Security Council estimated the losses of Wagner PMC from the beginning of the war until mid-February this year at 30,000 people killed and wounded.
- The fact that Prigozhin, in one of his personal conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, criticized the Russian army, was reported by The Washington Post in October last year, citing sources. The founder of the PMC rejected these reports.
- Later, against the background of the battles for Bakhmut, in which PMC mercenaries participated, Prigozhin repeatedly published videos sharply criticizing Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
- PMC “Wagner” is a Russian unofficial armed formation. PMC mercenaries, including prisoners recruited in the colonies, are actively involved in the war with Ukraine, as well as in ground operations in Syria and Africa.
- The Layout edition draws attention to the fact that Prigozhin gave an interview against the backdrop of a world map, on which multi-colored pins are placed. The publication assumes that the sphere of interests of the PMC owner, in all likelihood, includes more than 30 countries, including those in Latin America, Asia and Oceania. The markers, in particular, designate countries in which the activity of Prigozhin’s structures was not reported, for example, South Africa, Ethiopia, Gabon, Colombia and Bangladesh.
- PMC fighters are accused of committing numerous war crimes, including extrajudicial executions. Prigogine does not deny this, although he does not admit it in direct words. In a number of countries PMC “Wagner” is recognized as a criminal and terrorist organization.
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