“And it’s possible that this could be a sort of morbid way of him. In Washington, Kirby speculated Wednesday on Prigozhin's motives. Since the war began, Ukraine has applied to join NATO, and cross-border attacks into Russia itself have increased. In invading Ukraine, Putin also cited the need to increase Russia's security and prevent Ukraine from joining NATO. Prigozhin said Russia’s goal of “demilitarizing” Ukraine has backfired because Kyiv’s military has become stronger with Western weapons and training. In an interview published late Tuesday with Konstantin Dolgov, a pro-Kremlin political strategist, Prigozhin went even further in his criticism - questioning some of Russian President Vladimir Putin's rationale for the war. He's highlighted his forces' sacrifices, and on Saturday touted what he claimed was the capture of the city of Bakhmut. He also has questioned their tactics, commitment and leadership capabilities, and complained they haven't sufficiently credited his forces for battlefield successes. Prigozhin - himself a former convict - has frequently criticized Russian military officials for not supplying his troops with enough ammunition. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said then that about half of those killed were Wagner forces.Īnalysts believe many of those killed in the nine-month fight for Bakhmut were Russian convicts with little military training. The White House estimated this month that Russian forces had suffered 100,000 casualties, including 20,000 killed in fighting, since December. White House officials said Wednesday that Prigozhin’s comments were in line with their own estimates that Russian losses have accelerated.
Ukraine hasn’t said how many of its soldiers have died since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022. By comparison, official Soviet troop losses in the 1979-89 Afghanistan war were 15,000. His figures stood in stark contrast to Moscow's widely disputed claims that just over 6,000 of its troops were killed throughout the war as of January. Yevgeny Prigozhin said about half of those who died in the eastern Ukrainian city were Russian convicts recruited for the 15-month-old war. KYIV – The head of the Russian private army Wagner has again broken with the Kremlin line on Ukraine, saying its goal of demilitarizing the country has backfired, acknowledging Russian troops have killed civilians and agreeing with Western estimates that he's lost more than 20,000 men in the battle for Bakhmut.
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