Ukraine war: Wagner chief admits Russia facing resistance in capturing Bakhmut

Yevgeny Prigozhin said Moscow must capture the strategic city to firmly establish its presence in eastern Ukraine

He, however, acknowledged Russian forces are facing fierce resistance from Ukrainian army as it sends more and more units

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The founder of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin inside a cockpit of a bomber plane over an unidentified location. File photo: Concord via Reuters

Published: 1:30pm, 11 Feb 2023

The head of Moscow’s Wagner mercenary group said in a rare interview made public on Friday that Russian forces must capture the strategic city of Bakhmut to proceed with their campaign but faced fierce resistance from Ukrainian defenders.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, interviewed by a Russian military correspondent, said Russia had to establish clear goals in its nearly year-old campaign: firmly establish its presence in eastern Ukraine or push forward to capture more of the country.

Moscow invaded Ukraine on February 24, eight years after it annexed the Crimean peninsula and its proxies took large swathes of territory in eastern Ukraine, styling them as the “people’s republics” in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Prigozhin, an entrepreneur and restaurateur, has attracted attention as fighting raged in this campaign. He has criticised Russia’s military leadership and certain officials.

Wagner troops have played a large role, particularly last month in capturing the town of Soledar – outside Bakhmut, which has endured months of combat and bombardment and is known to both sides as the “meat grinder”.