Wagner Group mercenary Yevgeny Prigozhin has urged Moscow to provide him with 200,000 troops to stop Ukraine’s long-promised counteroffensive, as attacks by Kiev troops reportedly pushed past Russian defenses and around the destroyed ones town of Bakhmut in Donetsk.
Prigozhin – known for his public bravery and criticism of the regular Russian military hierarchy – said in a video published Tuesday on his official Telegram channel that his Wagner organization was the only force capable of stopping the Ukrainian attack , which officials in Russia and the West say may have started now.
“I need 200,000 people,” said Prigozhin, quoted in an article in the Moscow Times. “Less than 200,000 people on the Luhansk-Donetsk front line will not make it. We are ready to take full responsibility.”
Ukrainian soldiers drive a tank on a road near the frontline in the Donetsk region on June 5, 2023, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Kiev says some of its troops have now switched to offensive operations.ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images
Disputes between Wagner and the Russian military over supplies in Bakhmut prompted Prigozhin to begin withdrawing his forces from the devastated settlement last month. It is believed that Wagner suffered heavy casualties in taking Bakhmut, with the number of troops augmented by former Russian prisoners recruited for battle.
Prigozhin urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to announce a full-scale nationwide mobilization to expand his armed forces, but added that without a proper three-month training window, these newly formed units would be “cannon fodder.” Wagner’s tactics reportedly relied heavily on such “fodder” in Bachmut.
Ukrainian forces, Prigozhin said, “have already breached the line of defense in several areas.”
“Near Bakhmut in three places, in Toretsk there is a large accumulation, and soon they will start cutting off Kurdyumovka and Ozaryanovka. The Belgorod region is bursting at the seams. In Zaporizhia they lost the heaviest settlement. Now they will strike north and south towards Donetsk and there will be no time. Aviation will not save [the situation].”
Prigozhin again proposed against the Russian Defense Ministry. “There is no management, no planning, no preparation, no mutual respect,” he said. “And then all that will be replaced by tantrums at the top… We’re going to take heavy casualties now, I’m absolutely sure. We will certainly lose some of the territories.”
The southern front line south of Zaporizhia has been touted as one of the most likely locations for the expected Ukrainian counterattack. If Ukrainian troops can break through Russian lines there, they could push south to liberate Melitopol and advance further to the shore of the Sea of Azov, severing Moscow’s land bridge to Crimea.
The situation in this area is a “disaster,” said Prigozhin. He added: “Novodonetskoye is already taken. And if the troops retreat further, to a depth of 5 to 8 kilometers, it means that there will be an uncontrolled enemy invasion.”
“We understand that at least another 50 percent of the residents of this territory will help the Armed Forces of Ukraine. So as soon as they go a little deeper, they will advance to Berdyansk and Mariupol, and it will be impossible to stop them.”
Newsweek has emailed the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.
Kiev is keeping operational silence about the expected counter-offensive. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry spokeswoman Hanna Maliar said there would be no announcement this week on the start of the operation, but also said units in some areas have now shifted to “offensive actions”.
Aerial photo shows extensive destruction in the town of Bakhmut June 1, 2023 in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. Russia claimed to have taken the city last month, but Ukrainian forces are reportedly now advancing on the north and south flanks. Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images