- Dec 29, 2008
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RIGOZHIN’S PYRRHIC VICTORY: Less than a week after claiming to have taken Bakhmut, Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has begun pulling his private army out of the eastern Ukrainian city, while delivering a blistering parting political shot at the Kremlin.
In an interview Tuesday, Prigozhin said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s stated goal of “denazification” and “demilitarization” of Ukraine has backfired. “Nothing is working out for us,” he told Konstantin Dolgov, a former Russian lawmaker and pro-Kremlin blogger. “The denazification we were talking about has turned Ukraine into a nation that is known to everyone all over the world … We legitimized Ukraine.”
“How did we demilitarize it?” Prigozhin lamented. “It turns out to be just the opposite … They had 20,000 men trained to fight, now they have 400,000 … I think today the Ukrainians are one of the strongest armies. They have high levels of organization and preparedness, high level of intelligence; they have all kinds of weapons … F**k knows how, but we’ve militarized Ukraine.”
“Our boots have trampled over the entire territory … We’ve reached Kyiv, but then, I say it in plain Russian, we crapped our pants and retreated.”
20,000 DIED TAKING BAKHMUT: In the more than hourlong interview, Prigozhin acknowledged Russian troops have killed civilians and confirmed Western estimates that more than 20,000 of his men died in the meatgrinder of Bakhmut, about half of whom were convicts recruited from Russian prisons.
And he warned there could be a popular uprising in Russia aimed at the wealthy elite who seem disconnected from the war. “I recommend for the elites of the Russian Federation to gather up your offspring and send them to war, and when you go to their funerals, then people will say, ‘Now everything is fair,’” he said.
Prigozhin predicted that if elites don’t start sending their children to war, all the “regular” folks “will take up their pitchforks.”
“We are in a situation where we can simply lose Russia,” Prigozhin warned. “We must introduce martial law. We, unfortunately … must announce new waves of mobilization; we must put everyone who is capable to work on increasing the production of ammunition … Russia needs to live like North Korea for a few years, so to say, close the borders … and work hard.”
Prigozhin makes a lot of sense. Clearly Putin has accomplished tee exact opposite of what he said he wanted to do.
In an interview Tuesday, Prigozhin said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s stated goal of “denazification” and “demilitarization” of Ukraine has backfired. “Nothing is working out for us,” he told Konstantin Dolgov, a former Russian lawmaker and pro-Kremlin blogger. “The denazification we were talking about has turned Ukraine into a nation that is known to everyone all over the world … We legitimized Ukraine.”
“How did we demilitarize it?” Prigozhin lamented. “It turns out to be just the opposite … They had 20,000 men trained to fight, now they have 400,000 … I think today the Ukrainians are one of the strongest armies. They have high levels of organization and preparedness, high level of intelligence; they have all kinds of weapons … F**k knows how, but we’ve militarized Ukraine.”
“Our boots have trampled over the entire territory … We’ve reached Kyiv, but then, I say it in plain Russian, we crapped our pants and retreated.”
20,000 DIED TAKING BAKHMUT: In the more than hourlong interview, Prigozhin acknowledged Russian troops have killed civilians and confirmed Western estimates that more than 20,000 of his men died in the meatgrinder of Bakhmut, about half of whom were convicts recruited from Russian prisons.
And he warned there could be a popular uprising in Russia aimed at the wealthy elite who seem disconnected from the war. “I recommend for the elites of the Russian Federation to gather up your offspring and send them to war, and when you go to their funerals, then people will say, ‘Now everything is fair,’” he said.
Prigozhin predicted that if elites don’t start sending their children to war, all the “regular” folks “will take up their pitchforks.”
“We are in a situation where we can simply lose Russia,” Prigozhin warned. “We must introduce martial law. We, unfortunately … must announce new waves of mobilization; we must put everyone who is capable to work on increasing the production of ammunition … Russia needs to live like North Korea for a few years, so to say, close the borders … and work hard.”
Prigozhin makes a lot of sense. Clearly Putin has accomplished tee exact opposite of what he said he wanted to do.
