Wagner Group: The war in Ukraine could last for years

kyiv, Ukraine (AP) — The war in Ukraine could last for years, according to forecasts by the owner of the Wagner Group, a private military contractor actively involved in the conflict.

In a video interview released on Friday evening, Yevgeny Prigozhin said it would take Russia between 18 months and two years to take full control of Ukraine’s industrial heartland, the eastern region of Donbass. And the war could last up to three years if Moscow decides to capture more territory east of the Dnieper.

The remarks by Prigozhin – a millionaire with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and who has been dubbed ‘Putin’s boss’ for his lucrative catering contracts with the Kremlin – are an acknowledgment of the difficulties faced by Moscow troops in the campaign , which they were originally supposed to end a few weeks after they invaded Ukrainian territory on February 24 last year.

Russia suffered a series of humiliating defeats in the fall coinciding with successful counter-offensives by the Ukrainian army to retake large swaths of territory in the east and south. The Kremlin has avoided making predictions about the duration of the conflict and has indicated that what it describes as a “special military operation” will continue until its objectives are achieved.

Russian forces have focused on Luhansk and Donetsk provinces, which form Donbass, where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Kyiv forces since 2014.

According to Prigozhin, the mercenaries of the Wagner Group were still fighting bitter battles for control of the Ukrainian stronghold of Bakhmut in Donetsk, and he acknowledged that troops from kyiv were offering fierce resistance.

As Russian forces continued their attacks on Donbass, Moscow tried to demoralize the civilian population by leaving them without heat or water in the harsh Ukrainian winter.

The Kremlin launched its 14th series of massive attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and other vital infrastructure on Friday. The shells hit high-voltage infrastructure facilities in the east, west and south, causing power outages in some areas.

Ukraine’s energy company, Ukrenergo, said on Saturday the situation was “difficult but controllable”, adding that booster systems were being used to maintain the power supply, although electricity rationing continued in some places. .

Ukrainian army chief General Valerii Zaluzhnyi said Russian forces launched 71 cruise missiles, 35 S-300s and seven Shahed drones between Thursday evening and noon Friday. Air defenses shot down 61 cruise missiles and five drones, he added.

Ukrainian authorities reported more drone strikes on Friday night, with the air force saying 20 were shot down overnight.

Also on Friday evening, Russian military bloggers and Ukrainian media published a video of a marine drone attack on a strategic railway bridge in the Odessa region. In the footage, a high-speed object approaches the Zatoka Bridge, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of Odessa, and causes a powerful explosion.

The authenticity of the video could not immediately be verified. The Ukrainian military commented on the attack and regional government spokesman Serhii Bratchuk declined to confirm the incident in remarks broadcast on television on Saturday.

The bridge, which had already been attacked by Russian missiles at the start of the war, serves as a rail link to Romania, a key route for the arrival of Western weapons.