Russia Ukraine war, page-128450

Pentagon leaks won’t hurt Ukraine – Wagner boss — RT Russia & Former Soviet Union

Interesting observations from the Wagner boss!

Couple of extracts:

Commenting on the arrest of the alleged leaker, a 21-year-old Air National Guard member, Prigozhin said he may have been a fool or a dupe, but “if this leak had not happened, it would certainly have been invented.” The documents themselves, he emphasized, contain nothing that would add to the risk of the Ukrainian military should it launch its long-anticipated attack. Breakdown: What is known about the surrounded Ukrainian troops in Artyomovsk (Bakhmut)

“It is clear that the military operations on Ukraine’s side are tactically directed by Ukrainian soldiers, but strategically by the so-called Western coalition, run by the UK and the US,” said Prigozhin.

He accused the West of “holding back” the Ukrainian military in a “dramatic pause,” after it had been assembled for attack, delaying the offensive that might actually inflict reputational harm on Russia with even a symbolic advance on any front ahead of May 9, the anniversary of the great WWII victory over Nazi Germany.

“The Ukrainians are ready to attack. We are ready to repel the blow,” Prigozhin summarized. “No negotiations. Only an honorable battle. And the sooner it starts, the better.”

And, on Bakhmut:

As of Friday, Wagner and other Russian troops hold most of Artyomovsk, with an estimated 6,000 battered Ukrainian troops attempting to retreat westward to Chasov Yar. Prigozhin has suggested that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky had thrown his best troops and foreign mercenaries into the battle for the Donbass town after receiving a personal challenge from Wagner in December, losing thousands in the “meat grinder” with nothing to show for it.