‘Independence’ and ‘brutal discipline’: Wagner leader praises efficiency of his troops in Ukraine

A satisfying exercise for paramilitary group leader Wagner, who is fighting troops in Ukraine that often rival those of the Russian army.

In a video released on Saturday evening by his press office, Yevgeny Prigozhin outlined the reasons why his fighters, he said, managed to capture the city of Soledar in eastern Ukraine. Kyiv still refutes this statement.

Prigozhin says his men are very experienced and “do all their tasks on their own” because they have their own planes, artillery pieces and armored vehicles. “The most important thing is the command system, which has been brought to perfection. The Wagner Group listens to everyone, everyone can express their opinion,” Yevgeny Prigozhin assured.

But “after a decision is made, all missions are completed, no one can go back. It is the cruelest discipline that gives us such an opportunity,” he continued, dressed in camouflage, next to the man he introduces as the Wagner commander at the Battle of Soledar.

These comments by Yevgeny Prigozhin look like a new veiled criticism of the Russian military command, which even some supporters of Vladimir Putin accuse of lack of coordination and detachment from reality on the ground. In recent months, Yevgeny Prigozhin has repeatedly criticized the commanders of Russian troops, in particular during the Ukrainian military successes this fall in the regions of Kharkov (east) and Kherson (south).

Thousands of detainees recruited

On Friday, the Russian military announced the capture of Soledar without initially mentioning Wagner fighters. Yevgeny Prigozhin, through his press office, then regretted the “constant attempts to steal the victories” of his group.

On rare occasions, the Russian Ministry of Defense issued a press release afterwards praising the “courage” of Wagner’s men in Soledar.

The Wagner Group, founded in 2014, has recruited thousands of prisoners to fight in Ukraine in exchange for a reduced sentence. A sign of coming to power Yevgeny Prigozhin, 61, admitted in September that he founded Wagner after years of denial. Now he regularly travels to the Ukrainian front and actively speaks out through his press service.