According to its boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian mercenary group Wagner needs 10,000 tons of ammunition per month for the battle for the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.
In a video released on Saturday, Prigozhin emphatically demanded the delivery of artillery shells and shells. The video allegedly shows him on the roof of a house in the largely destroyed city – about 1.2 kilometers from the administrative center, which is held by Ukrainian troops. Prigozhin announced: “We will win.”
The video showed many destroyed houses and streets – comparatively rare photos of the city, which once had 70,000 inhabitants. Only a few thousand live there today. Wagner’s boss assured that no one in Moscow should worry that he had political ambitions. Therefore, the necessary amounts of ammunition must be delivered to him without reservation. Russia’s billionaires are also ready for such spending. He put the monthly costs at half a billion US dollars (about 470 million euros).
Fighting in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut escalated with another attack by Russian forces. They are trying to break through Ukraine’s defenses, which have largely held up over the past six months.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to keep the city strategically important under all circumstances. Bachmut has been contested since late summer. The city is the main part of the defense line between Seversk and Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. If successful, the path to the main cities of Slovjansk and Kramatorsk opens for Russian troops. This brought the complete conquest of the Donetsk region closer.
Ukrainian soldier Mikhail says: “It’s difficult to defend Bakhmut. The enemy is numerous. Because of the weather, we can hardly use our vehicles. It’s too muddy.”
Images released by Russian news agency RIA Novosti allegedly show Wagner’s fighters in the southern part of Bakhmut, scene of the longest battle of this war, which exacts a heavy price on both sides, with some observers calling Bakhmut already the Verdun of the 21st century.