Russia’s Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an interview posted on Telegram Wednesday that about 20,000 of his fighters were killed in the 224-day battle of Bakhmut.
Prigozhin said half of those who died in the brutal battle were convicts he recruited from prison. “Throughout the [entire combat] operation, I recruited 50,000 prisoners, of which about 20% died. Exactly the same number died as those who signed up through a contract,” he said, according to ZeroHedge.
The mercenary chief also estimated that 50,000 Ukrainians were killed in Bakhmut, and another 50,000 to 70,000 were wounded.
Prigozhin announced over the weekend that his forces had fully captured Bakhmut and said they will hand their positions over to regular Russian forces on May 25. His comments offer a rare glimpse into how many people may have been killed on the battlefield in Ukraine, as both Moscow and Kyiv have kept a tight lid on casualty figures.
It’s not clear how many Ukrainians were killed fighting for Bakhmut, but the number is expected to be massive. Kyiv was pouring fresh recruits into the battle, and Ukrainian soldiers fighting on the front told media outlets that they were being sent into the “meat grinder” with little support, training, or ammunition.
Toward the end of the battle of Bakhmut, Prigozhin stepped up his criticism of Russian military leadership and accused Moscow of not providing his forces with enough ammunition. In the interview posted Wednesday, he continued his criticism of Moscow, saying the goal of demilitarizing Ukraine had backfired.
Exactly who or how is the Wagner ”group” remunerated?
I can understand that inmates will do anything to get out of prison however something doesn’t quite smell right about using prisoners to go and fight in wars [for which they had no real military training]
Here it is….
Wagner Group lures foreign mercenaries with bumped-up salaries as Russia suffers losses[MEE]
Russian work release is no joke but at least Russia does not have to worry about recidivism with those lost souls.
One must wonder if less reckless Russian troops would have done it with less causulties but that’s for acedemics to argue about (without resolution)
So 20,000 lost vs. the reported 50,000?
I’m sure those numbers are not quite right and firm but there is a heck of a stark difference that will likely hold as the numbers firm up.
2.5 for 1 is not sustainable no matter what the West believes.
Wagner is reliably explained by insiders as about 50% contract troop veterans of the Russia Army, and about 50% recruited from odd places like jails for minor crimes.
The original Wagner format was entirely contract troops drawn from the Russian Army, and was used to force feed combat experience into the Russian Army’s newly formed NCO corp, as part of the Russian Army reforms to get away from Soviet era practices of short term conscripts led by junior officers of inadequate numbers or experience doing the work of Western NCOs. Those soldiers at the end of their contract tours with Wagner then went back to the Russian Army as more experienced veterans.
The recent filling in of recruits was supplement, not the essence of the thing.
A Russian foreign legion in assence run by an NGO in western terms.
They claim it is 50% convict but that’s likely wildly over estimated and most of those guys had previous military service or at least knew their way around with weapons that hurt people.
But it was only one battle? You’re acting like that was the definitive moment.
Where is Ukraine pushing Russia back?
Want to share the one area where the breakout is occurring?
Just one spot where a decisive battle like that city occurred.
Where has Ukraine killed 50,000 troops while losing 20,000?
In Vietnam the US lost 58,000 troops, the ARVN had 250,000 killed and the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong had about a million fighters killed and an equal number of civilian deaths. The US won every battle but our leadership could not understand that the war was a lost cause because the communists had won the hearts and minds of most of the Vietnamese people.
In an asymmetric war of national resistance to prevail the invader needs to conquer, occupy and pacify the occupied territory. The indigenous defenders only need to survive and continue to resist to ultimately prevail. I accept 20,000 killed as a realistic estimate for the Wagner soldiers killed at Bakhmut. Although I have no idea what the Ukrainian casualties are, there is no doubt that they are doing what indigenous defenders need to do to ultimately win. The tragedy is that imperialist leaders who rise to their positions through the ruthless use of conventional power can never grasp the limitations on a superior military power in an asymmetric war in a foreign country where the resistance has popular support.
That’s a heck of a long post and I can agree with the “I have no idea” part that you shared.
I wish you would sacrifice . You demand so much death for a pointless war . Many Americans are really sick and fat—-headed . A sick culture , on its way out . Destroyed itself
I did my sacrificing 50 years ago. I don’t demand anything of Ukraine or Palestine. But I support the right of the Ukrainians and the Palestinians to resist. It is up to them, not to any of us in the peanut gallery.
I see no evidence that Ukrainians overlook the systemic corruption of their leaders to sustain an uprising. In fact, it’s possible they’ll soon figure out they are the fodder for NATO’s proxy war and will be grieving and impoverished even if Russia retreats.
It’s been 15 months and the Ukrainians continue to fight with courage and resilience. It is the Russians whose morale seems to be breaking down. US and NATO hve wicked agendas. But Ukraine’s cause is righteous and so far they have been able to use US and NATO aid to achieve Ukrainian objectives.
Yikes. Ok.
The US has never been able to motivate people to fight effectively unless the people are fighting for something they believe in. Most Ukrainians are fighting against the Russian invasion by choice.
Your side is done. no worries Colin .. you don’t have to pay any price as always . You sure do like wars tho . . Why you were so intent on killing so many young men off I do not know. It’s a shame you never feel the pain you bring to so many around the globe
I’m more curious how many American casualties in Ukraine. There were about 1000 dead US mercs before Artemovsk operation. Many of them were exterminated in Mariupol.
Considering that Pentagon thugs are hunting Ukrainian men and physically dragging them to front lines for sacrifice, there are hardly any Ukrainians left. Most grunts are Polish, English and American. Polish are sustaining heaviest casualties followed by English. Poland is next for Pentagon culling. Puppet regime in Poland already enacted forced conscription.
What color is the sky on your planet?
Colin , it’s really amazing that people like you exist
The US publicly estimated the total Wagner presence at any one time at a max of 50,000.
20,000 dead, at normal rates of dead:wounded, would mean well over 100% casualties among Wagner just in that one battle. Wagner’s continued effectiveness and ultimate victory belies that casualty rate.
This simply does not add up.
Those cheering this don’t believe much of anything else said by these same Russians. They cherry pick to use whatever fits their narrative. This misleads.
That said, I’m sure Wagner suffered significant losses. Just not enough to more than destroy it, given that it won and is now withdrawing in good order.
Contrary to the headline, he said 20% of 50,000…10,000
Ok can someone explain to me where the 20,000 fighters number comes from? Prighozin is not quoted as saying 20,000. His quote was 20% of 50,000. Which in the world we live in is 10,000. A very high number, but not close to 20,000. So again, where the heck is the 20,000 coming from?
This war would have NEVER happened if the democrats hadn’t stolen the 2020 presidential election. We now know that many politicians have criminal business interests in the Ukraine.
The blood from both countries is on their hands.