Prigozhin says in an unusual open letter to Russian Defense Minister Shoigu that a “large-scale” offensive aims to cut off his fighters from regular Russian troops.
The owner of the Russian mercenary Wagner Group has warned Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu that the Ukrainian army is planning a menacing offensive to cut its forces off from the bulk of Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.
Yevgeny Prigozhin said the “massive attack” was planned for late March or early April in a letter published by his press office on Monday.
“I ask you to take all necessary measures to prevent the private military company Wagner from being cut off from the main forces of the Russian army, which will lead to negative consequences for the special military operation,” said Prigozhin, using the term that Moscow used. for the invasion of Ukraine.
It was the first time Prigozhin published such correspondence with the defense minister, whom he often criticized for the conduct of the war.
The unusual move seemed to serve two possible purposes: to mislead the Ukrainian commanders and try to blame Shoigu, not Prigozhin, if the supposed Ukrainian maneuver proved successful.
Prigozhin said he provided details about the Ukrainian plan and his own proposal to counter it in an appendix to the letter, which he did not make public. He did not say how he knew about Ukraine’s intentions.
Battle of Bakhmut
He said Wagner forces currently control 70 percent of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which they have been trying to capture since last summer in the war’s longest and bloodiest battle.
In separate comments published by a regional news channel on Telegram, Prigozhin said there was a “high probability” that the southern Russian city of Belgorod would be one of the targets of the upcoming Ukrainian offensive.
He gave no evidence to support his claim that Ukraine could launch a full-scale attack on a Russian city.
Russia has often accused Ukraine of carrying out isolated cross-border attacks using drones and other means. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for such incidents.
Muddy battlefield
Weather conditions have made it difficult for either side to move a front line that has remained relatively unchanged since November.
“Both sides are waiting for weather conditions to improve,” said a Ukrainian commander who gave his name Ruslan. “Any major offensives are impossible or at least very problematic. Time is on the side of the defenders.”
A lieutenant of an infantry unit near Bakhmut said rain was “a big problem”.
“Our boys remain in the trenches, in the mud and they have to defend the position,” said the soldier, who wished to remain anonymous. “If the weather dries up and stays like this for three or four weeks, there will definitely be a full-scale attack.”
Heavy fighting continued in Bakhmut on Tuesday. However, Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said there had been fewer attacks along the front lines than usual over the past 24 hours.
“This could be linked to the Chinese leader’s visit to Moscow. Why? Because Putin is unlikely to show aggression on the front lines, especially since China has come out in favor of a ceasefire and an end to the war. So this will likely continue through his two-day visit.
Russia, which has not won a major military victory since August, has launched a massive winter offensive involving hundreds of thousands of conscripted reservists and convicts from prisons.
“They have lost the initiative practically along the entire length of the front line,” Ukrainian military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko told Ukraine’s NV Radio.
(TagsToTranslate)News
