Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin urges Vladimir Putin to stop Ukraine war and tell world Russia has won

A prominent friend of Vladimir Putin has urged him to stop the war now and tell the world that Russia has achieved the objectives of its “special military operation,” which included decimating “a large portion of the active male population of Ukraine’.

Yevgeny Prigozhin – head of the Wagner mercenary army deployed by the Kremlin – posted an incoherent statement online last night making the startling call for the war to end.

He claimed that Russia had taken a “big swath” of Ukrainian territory and that the most strategic route for its forces – which have suffered heavy casualties – would be to defend existing gains.

The warmonger, who has been tipped as a potential political threat to Putin, also warned that the Russian people could seek a “scapegoat” for military failures as the brutal war continues.

This could lead to revolutionary fervor, as seen in 1917 – yet Prigozhin insisted that “nothing” threatened the “supreme power of Russia,” apparently referring to Putin.

Prighozin admitted that Ukraine could launch a counter-offensive and break Russian lines

Prigozhin’s statement is the first time that a senior Putin henchman, who is also directly involved in ground fighting, has publicly advised that the Kremlin end the war.

His surprise call for the country to declare an end to hostilities seems to recognize the weakness of the Kremlin’s armed forces and a lack of hunger for war among the Russian people.

Russia had succeeded in killing a large number of Ukrainian men and inducing others to leave the country, he claimed, not citing the larger numbers of its own people who have died.

“For the authorities and society as a whole, it is necessary today to definitively stop the special military operation,” said Prigozhin, who has been nicknamed Putin’s “chief” because he once presided over Kremlin banquets.

“The ideal option is to announce the end of the special military operation, to inform everyone that Russia has achieved the planned results, and in a sense we have actually achieved them.

Prigozhin is believed to harbor political ambitions and is seen as aiming to take over an existing political party called Just Russia

“We have cut down a huge number of fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and we can report to ourselves that the tasks of the special military operation have been accomplished.”

He said in the article, “Theoretically, Russia has already done that [made a point] by exterminating a large part of Ukraine’s active male population and by intimidating another part who fled to Europe.

Russia cut off the Sea of ​​Azov and a large part of the Black Sea, seized a thick chunk of Ukrainian territory and created a land corridor to Crimea.

“Now there’s only one thing left to do: get a firm foothold, claw into those areas that already exist.”

He admitted that Ukraine could launch a counter-offensive and break Russian lines.

In this case in the [Russian] army, which for many years considered itself one of the best armies in the world, decadent moods can arise at first, after which the situation deteriorates.”

This happened in historic wars with Finland and Japan, but also in World War I, when the revolution broke out in 1917 with “tragic events,” he said.

“This could lead to global changes in Russian society,” he said.

An aerial view of damaged residential buildings from shelling in Kharkiv earlier this year

“The people are already looking for a culprit for the fact that we are not the strongest army in the world, and in this situation they will look for ‘the scapegoat’.”

These are likely members of Russia’s “deep state,” he said, people who would “betray Russia’s interests” for their own gain.

“At the same time, nothing threatens the supreme power of Russia, as it is a symbol of national unity and resistance to the West,” he wrote.

A “painful” Ukrainian counter-offensive could play into Russia’s hands, he added.

“I summarize – the Ukrainians are ready to attack.

“We are ready to deflect the blow.

“The best scenario to heal Russia so that it unites and becomes the strongest state is the offensive of the armed forces of Ukraine, in which no…negotiations are possible.

Prigozhin is believed to harbor political ambitions and is seen as aiming to take over an existing political party called Just Russia

“And either Ukraine’s armed forces will be defeated in a fair fight, or Russia will lick its wounds, build muscle and tear its rivals apart again in a fair fight.”

The option of agreements with Ukraine to end the war is “impossible,” he said.

Prigozhin is believed to harbor political ambitions and is seen as aiming to take over an existing political party called Just Russia.

The warlord’s latest statement appears to be an example of his political muscle flexing, and he has frequently spoken out about Kremlin tactics during the war.

It stands in stark contrast to what analysts describe as a sign that the Russian government is planning for a protracted conflict.

A new law introduced yesterday that prevents certain Russian men from evading conscription suggests Moscow expects to maximize its troop supply as the war continues, Britain’s Defense Ministry said today.

Putin reportedly signed a bill yesterday to create a digital calling system, meaning authorities could submit draft documents over the Internet instead of by letter.

The measure, which is reported to take effect later this year, would remove a way to avoid military duties.

“Now that individuals’ call records are digitally linked to other state-provided online services, it is likely that authorities will penalize conscription evaders by automatically restricting labor rights and restricting foreign travel,” the Defense Department said.

“For the time being, Russia is prioritizing an action to recruit additional volunteer troops. However, the measure is most likely part of a long-term approach to supplying personnel, as Russia expects a protracted conflict in Ukraine.”

What is the Wagner Group?

Private Military Company (PMC) Wagner is a group of mercenaries led by Russian oligarch and close ally of Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The group has served as Putin’s personal group of enforcers for years, though it maintains ties to Russia’s foreign military intelligence agency, the GRU.

Founded in 2014 by a sinister former lieutenant colonel of Russia’s ‘Spetsnaz’ special forces, Dmitry Utkin, Wagner went straight to work after annexing Crimea, arming and organizing separatist groups in the Donbas region of Ukraine.

Wagner group insignia are depicted

In the eight years between the annexation of Crimea and all-out war in Ukraine, Wagner’s mercenaries have been deployed abroad to covertly advance Russian interests.

They were involved in the Russian intervention in Syria, where they helped prop up the Assad regime, and then went on to operate in countries across Africa, including Mali, the Central African Republic, Mozambique and Sudan.

Their goals vary by region, but their missions almost always include strengthening the armed forces of the Kremlin’s preferred regimes through the provision of weapons and training, as well as additional security services.

In return, Russia gains access to natural resources, investment opportunities and geopolitical influence.

Yevgeny Prigozhin (left) is the main financier of the Wagner group and is a close ally of Russian President Putin (right)

An integral part of most Wagner assignments is gaining control of the local population and elements hostile to the regime – something in which the mercenaries have proved particularly ruthless.

The mercenaries have developed a reputation for violence and brutality and achieve their goals by any means necessary.

The Wagner Group is now deployed in a combat capacity alongside regular Russian army soldiers in Ukraine, and is credited with achieving much of Moscow’s success on the front lines.

In the fall of 2022, Prigozhin embarked on a massive recruitment drive in Russian prisons, enlisting hardened criminals to increase his ranks and deploying them en masse in Ukraine on suicide missions to gain ground by using “human wave” tactics .

Since March 2023, the Wagner group has received less support from the Russian military, as Prigozhin has a bad relationship with the commander of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

But its fighters are still heavily involved in front-line combat operations in Ukraine.