Yevgeny
Prigozhin, the head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, has stated that
for Moscow to fully control Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern
Ukraine, it could take up to two years.
Last
year, Moskau claimed both regions as "republics" of Russia, which most
countries of the United Nations condemned as illegal.
- According to Prigozhin, Russia needed to capture Bakhmut in Donetsk but faced strong resistance from Ukrainian defenders.
- Capturing Donetsk and Luhansk, Moscow has stated, is a critical goal of the war.
- The U.S. estimates that the Wagner group has around 50,000 personnel deployed to Ukraine.
- This includes 10,000 contractors and 40,000 convicts recruited from prisons across Russia.
- Prigozhin said they had halted the prisoner recruiting campaign to fight in Ukraine.
- Last month, the U.S. designated the Wagner as a Transnational Criminal Organization.
- Prigozhin denied that and asked Washington to "clarify" what crime Wagner was accused of.
