“I think we can take Bachmoet in March or April,” the Wagner chief said in an online video. But according to Prigozhin, that could have been earlier. “I think we could have taken Bachmoet already if it weren’t for this monstrous military bureaucracy and if we weren’t being hindered every day.”
A clear swipe at the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Prigozhin has previously strongly criticized the Russian Ministry of Defense and the army command, which he believes are not going to work in Ukraine.
LOOK ALSO. Explained: who are the Russian Wagner mercenaries?
There has been fighting for Bachmoet since June last year. It is one of the bloodiest battles of this war. There have been a large number of casualties on both sides, although it is unclear how large the losses are. Although Bachmut’s strategic value seems limited, the Russians are keen to take the city in the Donbas. Its capture before February 24, when the Russian invasion is exactly one year ago, would mean a symbolic victory.
LOOK ALSO. Yevgeny Prigozhin praises Wagner group