Posted on 03/22/2023 5:49:16 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Time may be running out for the Russian private military company, the Wagner Group. Most of the mercenaries fighting for Wagner are about to go home, and what fighters do remain could soon be cut off from the rest of Russia’s armed forces.
Last fall, Wagner recruited heavily in Russian prisons to bolster its ranks. Wagner fighters were credited with taking Soledar and are now the tip of the spear in Russia’s attack on the city of Bakhmut.
The United States and United Kingdom both told the Ukrainian military it should strategically withdraw from the city in the country’s eastern Donbas region, saying it was of little strategic importance. However, as long as Russia commits a large portion of its forces to try and take the city, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he’s committing troops to its defense.
Wagner is using what are known as “human wave” attacks. A retired U.S. General told Newsweek that essentially the poorly trained mercenaries are sent en masse to the battlefield to help locate Ukrainian soldiers. Then Russia’s professional military forces can come in behind to conduct more precise attacks. The Battle for Bakhmut is now the war’s bloodiest. Of the 40,000 estimated convicts Wagner employed, around half of them are estimated to have either been killed or wounded in what Russians call “the meat grinder.”
Complicating matters for Wagner’s leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, most of the surviving convicts he recruited to fight are nearing the end of their six-month contracts. They will soon be pardoned and allowed to return to Russian society.
Not only will the pardons severely constrict Wagner’s impact on the battlefield, but the British Ministry of Defense said the sudden influx of violent offenders with recent and traumatic combat experience will likely present a “significant challenge for Russia’s war-time society.”
Prigozhin and Wagner were barred earlier this year from recruiting prisoners. So, the private military company is now looking for future soldiers of fortune through online campaigns and campus visits to Russian high schools. But Prigozhin might be hurting his own recruiting efforts.
In a letter published March 20, Prigozhin told Russia’s Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, Ukraine was planning to launch a large-scale attack in late March or early April. Prigozhin said the maneuver would cut off Wagner forces from the rest of Russia’s military. Prigozhin didn’t offer any evidence of the impending attack but said if Wagner is cut off, it will lead to negative consequences for what Russia calls its “special military operation.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
Straight Arrow News? I’m going to reward you five red Clown noses for bringing this to us.
“Reuters contributed to this report” is all I needed to see.
RE: I’m going to reward you five red Clown noses for bringing this to us.
How many red Clown noses for Reuters, which they said contributed to the news?
so when’s that elusive Russian Victory Parade happen?
just like the Sasquatch-believers, you Russian shills always claim it’s out there, but you just can’t seem to ever provide any actual proof of it ...
maybe it doesn’t really exist, huh ...
Putin’s next “Victory Parade” in Red Square is on May 9th. Six weeks to go...
Russia looks to me like they will be stuck in Ukraine for years. They had one one window last year for a win and they did not have the military capability to outfight Ukraine.
This is the reality.
They might have the means by drafting everyone and and arming them soviet style, I don’t know if that will work. But that country is finished as a major military power for many years.
Unless they have another country step in, like China.
Comrade! Good news: You win prestigious Putin Prize for supporting our heroic border dispute effort. You also win free vodka for life!
Even better news: You have been chosen to volunteer for Wagner. Our friendly representatives will be dropping by in a few minutes.
The part about the contracts expiring makes a lot of sense though. I wouldn’t just dismiss this.
ah yes, the annual “Final Russian Victory” Parade
just like those stores that have annual “going out of business” sales ...
The average for a Russian is 55...
No problem! That will buff right out!
Is the cost of airfare still the only thing between you and the frontlines?
see, there you go again, encouraging more fighting
that’s the *opposite* of what a REAL “man of peace” would do
you lying fraud
I’ll pay your fare, but I need a commitment that you’ll fight. Canadians do fight, right?
But please folks, don’t anyone other than the Ukraine help
the Ukraine.
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