Wijninga concludes that this is still the introduction to the real offensive. Never mind that the Ukrainian advance is difficult, the Russians dug in well with sometimes three line lines up to 30 kilometers deep. “It really is from every bush to the next bush to clear the nests of the Russian resistance. It takes a long time, but it goes on steadily.’
Prigozin
Wagner’s boss Prigozhin said via audio message that Russia can expect victories in the near future, but it was unclear whether Prigozhin was referring to the Russian military or his own Wagner troops. Wijninga does not know whether Wagner troops are currently deployed: “Apparently only 2% of Wagner troops have signed a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry. The rest apparently doomed.”
According to Wijninga, almost all of the Wagnerians who took part in the march on Moscow have now been sent to Belarus, “that’s about 5,000 men”. The remnant of Wagner troops are still in Luhansk province and it is questionable whether they are deployed at this time.
Follow developments in Ukraine and Russia here in this live blog