Owner of Wagner PMC now claims Russians were not that keen on taking Bakhmut
Before the earlier announced exit from the city of Bakhmut after many months of attempts to capture it, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Private Military Group [PMC] militants, said that this city was not of strategic importance for the Russian Federation, and its capture was allegedly not the main goal of the so-called operation "Bakhmut meat grinder." Source: Prigozhin's comment, shared by his press-service Quote: "It should be noted that the operation 'Bakhmut meat grinder' was designed mainly not to capture the settlement of Bakhmut, but to grind the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and organise a respite of the Russian army to restore combat capability.
The Bakhmut meat grinder has fully fulfilled its task. " Details: Prigozhin said that the operational space has already been opened in the direction of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, and "the remainder of 2.42 square kilometres does not matter for the operational space."
"The settlement of Bakhmut has no strategic importance for further advancement to the west. The capture of the settlements of Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, Druzhkivka, Konstantynivka (the Donbass Ring) to the west of which flat territories open, on which the Armed Forces of Ukraine find it difficult to maintain defence in the event of an offensive by the superior forces of the Russian army, is of strategic importance for the advancement of the Russian army," he said.
According to Prigozhin, on 8 October 2022, he and General of the Russian Armed Forces Sergey Surovikin, made a decision to launch the operation Bakhmut meat grinder, "an assault on the settlement of Bakhmut in order to force Volodymyr Zelenskyy to throw in as many forces as possible to hold Bamkhut." "The purpose of Operation Bakhmut Meat Grinder was to enable units of the Russian army to occupy profitable lines of defence, mobilise, reequip, train personnel and increase their combat potential," he excuses.
We have launched English Twitter! Follow us!
According to the leader of the militants, the term of the joint "operation" with Surovikin allegedly took a period of 6 months, allegedly until April 8, 2023.
Prigozhin also said that after leaving Bakhmut, the Wagner PMC "will go to training camps to restore combat capability, retrain units, and will be there until the threat to Russia and Russian citizens disappears as part of this military operation."
Background:
Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!