Holding onto Bakhmut also has symbolic value, and from that point of view, the Ukrainians "were right to stay," Miron noted. ![]() "From this perspective, if nobody knew that it was going to take this turn - it's not like the Ukrainian leadership knew that Wagner or Prigozhin, rather, was going to go ballistic - but now given all the factors, yes, it did make sense to stay there, despite the losses, if they can capitalize," Miron said, noting that this assessment presumes that Wagner withdraws and Ukraine sends more units to try and retake the city. Photo by DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images Ukrainian servicemen run to take cover during shelling near the frontline city of Bakhmut, Donetsk region on April 30, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Prigozhin and his fighters have routinely criticized Russia's top defense officials over Moscow's handling of the war and a lack of weaponry and ammunition, what Prigozhin often calls "shell hunger." But these tensions appeared to boil over this week with the publication of several videos that show Prigozhin railing against the Kremlin's military leadership. "We are seeing indications, including in intelligence, that tensions between Wagner and the Russian Ministry of Defense are increasing," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said earlier this year, noting that Wagner has become a rival power to Russia's military. Throughout the battle for Bakhmut, Western governments have observed clear cracks emerging in the relationship between Wagner and the Moscow, despite the mercenary group's close Kremlin ties. Smoke rises from buildings in this aerial view of Bakhmut, the site of the heaviest battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 26, 2023. "I do think the Ukrainians were right to stay and fight," said Rajan Menon, a nonresident scholar in the Russia and Eurasia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington-based think tank.īakhmut, which had a pre-war population of over 73,000 people and is located in the occupied Donetsk region, has been the focal point for brutal and intense fighting for months amid what continues to be a grinding war of attrition with relatively static front lines. Wagner's withdrawal, however, suggests that Ukraine's risky decision to stay may be paying off, Russia experts told Insider. Some of Ukraine's Western military backers have pushed for Kyiv to give up on its defense of the war-torn city, arguing it comes at too high a cost and offers too little strategic value. The move could change the course of what has become the war's longest and bloodiest battle. ![]() But Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the paramilitary organization, is now suggesting that his private army of mercenaries may soon be abandoning the fight. Russia's months-long campaign to capture the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut has relied heavily on efforts from the notorious Wagner Group. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |