The Wagner group, headed by Prigozhin, led the capture of Bakhmut, Russia's only battlefield gain this year, while it was his ally Surovikin, in his short period of overall command in Ukraine, who began building the defensive fortifications that are seen as so important to the invader's position today. However, the conduct of the invasion has changed since the fall of Bakhmut and Prigozhin's brief, failed rebellion at the end of June. Wagner's 15,000-strong light infantry force has been absent from the battle since late May.
Surovikin, already demoted from overall command, has been out of commission and possibly imprisoned since June, given his close relationship with Prigozhin and his presence in Rostov, where the shortlived Wagner march to Moscow began. In other words, Russia's military command in Ukraine had already consolidated around the veteran defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, and chief of staff, Valery Gerasimov.
It would be a mistake to write them off. While Ukraine's counteroffensive is continuing to make slow progress on the southern Zaporizhzhia front and even in the east around Bakhmut, the Russians are showing they are not just in defensive mode.
Denne historien er fra August 25, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian.
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Denne historien er fra August 25, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian.
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