Explained: The Role Of Private Mercenaries In The Russia-Ukraine War
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Russian attack on Bakhmut, an eastern city in Ukraine, has reduced the city to ¡®burnt ruins¡¯. The Russian forces have been trying to take Bakhmut for the last seven months but the past few weeks have seen a relentless struggle on both sides to attack and defend the city.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Russian attack on Bakhmut, an eastern city in Ukraine, has reduced the city to ¡®burnt ruins¡¯. The Russian forces have been trying to take Bakhmut for the last seven months but the past few weeks have seen a relentless struggle on both sides to attack and defend the city.
In his nightly video address president Zelenskyy named Bakhmut along with Soledar, Maryinka, and Kreminna that have been under a heavy Russian onslaught.
Why Bakhmut?
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War analysts are puzzled by Russia¡¯s insistence on Bakhmut¡¯s capture as its geographical position is of little importance to Russian advancement. And the cost has outweighed the reward for the Russian military.
The Bakhmut expedition has guzzled Russian resources and men are just cannon fodder.
A Washington DC-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War, on Twitter, spoke about Russia¡¯s desperation,¡¯ The costs associated with six months of brutal, grinding, and attrition-based combat around #Bakhmut far outweigh any operational advantage¡¯.
But altogether It wouldn¡¯t be a complete exercise in futility for Russia as it would gain some ground and make itself suitably placed to launch a strategic offensive against Ukrainian-held towns of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
Bkahmut has now become a matter of honour for the Russian military and they are adamant to take it.
Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin?
A private Russian-based, mercenary company, Wagner, is leading the frontal assault in Bakhmut and also has a pivotal role in the larger war.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian Oligarch having close ties with President Putin, owns the Wagner group. He is wanted by the FBI who want to arrest him for his alleged¡¯ impairing, obstructing, and defeating the Federal Election Commission¡¯ of the United States.
Wagner¡¯s profile
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Wagner along with other mercenaries recruits prisoners from Russia and sends them to war. The war has augured well for Wagner ever since the war began and its profits are continuously on the rise.
The Cipher Brief, a media outlet that exclusively deals with national security issues, details Wagner¡¯s involvement in unstable and war-torn countries such as Libya, Sudan, Venezuela, the Central African Republic(CAR), Syria and Ukraine.
Wagner has skilfully found its way around the US treasury department sanctions.
It was paid, for example, in gold and natural resources such as oil and gas in CAR and Syria respectively. A payment in kind enables Wagner to evade scrutiny and skirt sanctions.
Wagner¡¯s battlefield experience in the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 and in Africa in 2018 will be useful in its recent involvement in Ukraine.
What does Bakhmut mean for Wagner?
AFP/Representational Image
Bakhmut¡¯s capture would further add stars to Wagner¡¯s shoulder strap and increase its domestic and international presence as a mercenary organisation.
The situation in Bakhmut
The world works on opposing laws. Someone¡¯s profit is someone¡¯s loss. Bakhmut¡¯s devastation is Wagner¡¯s revenue.Bakhmut finds itself without sustenance. Necessities such as water and electricity have gone along with a vast majority of the population. Now, fewer than 10,000 civilians remain in Bakhmut as compared to the 70,000 people before.
