Vladimir Putin had brought something with him to the front, but first he put his hand on the souvenir, which was covered with a white cloth, at the dark brown table. Then he pulled the cloth away, opened a box and took out a copy of an icon: an Easter gift for the assembled commanders. It was not said exactly when the video recordings published by the Kremlin on Tuesday were taken. One thing is clear: within a few weeks, the Kremlin chief has flown to the occupied Ukrainian region for the second time, which Russia regards as its territory.
After a night drive through the largely destroyed Mariupol in March, the Kremlin this time showed footage of Putin with the Russian military leadership in Cherson, southern Ukraine, and at the headquarters of the “Vostok” (east) national guard in the Donbass region of Luhansk. He said he wanted to openly discuss the situation, to be informed, and that may have included the Russian commanders’ thoughts on a possible Ukrainian counter-offensive. It’s supposed to start in the spring, and that’s starting now.
Putin’s renewed visit to the front could be intended to support the official Russian armed forces before this important phase of the war, including with symbolic images. He met several generals and other senior officers; in Luhansk, a general reported the situation to the president, who, according to Russian media reports, was dismissed as commander of the central military district last fall, but was promoted to chief of staff of the army troops in January.
Prigozhin’s article was interpreted in Ukraine as a plea for an end to the war
It is Alexander Lapin, whom Putin has apparently held in high esteem for many years because of his operations in Syria and Ukraine. After capturing the Donbass city of Lysychansk last summer, he was awarded the “Hero of Russia” medal. Later, the general was sharply criticized, even mocked, by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and the head of the Wagner mercenary unit, Yevgeny Prigozhin, because of the Russian withdrawal from the city of Lyman.
That Prigozhin caused some excitement over the weekend when he wrote a lengthy blog post about the war, which Russia calls a “military special operation.” Prigozhin’s article was interpreted, particularly in Ukraine, as a plea for an end to the war. He wrote that one for the state and society “some thick point” have to put. “The ideal variant is to announce the end of the special operation, to tell everyone that Russia has achieved the planned results – and in a sense we have achieved them.”
Prigozhin wrote that, among other things, a large part of the Ukrainian male population was “annihilated” and another part fled to Europe in fear. In addition, Russia has conquered a large part of Ukraine and created a land route to Crimea. On the other hand, Prigozhin has now made it clear that he is primarily concerned with an “honest fight” and that negotiations are out of the question anyway. And: Such a “thick point” could be the capture of the city of Bakhmut, then to Slavyansk, Kramatorsk and even further. So the text caused not only excitement, but also confusion.
Rather, the Wagner boss is calling on Russia for a decisive battle
That too Institute for the Study of War warned from false interpretations that the Wagner boss might persuade the Russian leadership to change their minds and end the war. In fact, he is calling on Russia for a decisive battle.
It is difficult to estimate exactly what role the members of the Wagner troops could play in this. In recent months, Prigozhin has repeatedly criticized the Russian army leadership, even the defense ministry – but not Putin, who as president is the supreme commander of the armed forces. In Bakhmut they are fighting alongside the Russian armed forces. The British Ministry of Defense spoke on Tuesday of “creeping progress” that Russia is making in Bakhmut.
The losses of the private Wagner troops are also considered high. Their press service is already trying to promptly new volunteers between the ages of 21 and 60. A completed military service does not have to be proven, according to the appeal from last week. The European Union has imposed several sanctions on the Russian mercenary group for their “active participation” in the Russian war of aggression, and they were only tightened last Thursday.