Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, has turned to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with a bizarre video and apparently challenged him to an air battle for Bakhmut. Prigozhin, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, posted a video of himself in the cockpit of a military plane saying:
“Volodymyr Oleksandrovych [Selenskyj], we landed. We bombed Bachmut. Tomorrow I will fly a MiG-29. If you want, we’ll meet you in the air. If you win, you take Artemovsk [Bachmut] a. If not, we move up [zum Fluss] Dnipro before.”
The short video with the dubious offer to fight was published by Prigozhin’s press service, which claims that it was filmed on board a Wagner Su-24 bomber.
Wagner mercenaries fight on the front lines in Ukraine alongside the Russian army and also take part in the Russian offensive on Bakhmut.
Moscow has been trying to take the city since the summer, suffering heavy losses on both sides. The Ukrainians have recently been weakened there by Russian territorial gains, particularly in the city of Soledar further north.
Zelenskyi said on Saturday that the situation for the Ukrainians was becoming more complicated at several points on the front, especially in Bakhmut. However, Bachmut should be fought for “as long as we can”.
Wagner boss Prigoschin spoke on Sunday of “hard fights” for every street. Ukraine’s parliament on Monday passed a resolution classifying the Wagner mercenary group as a “terrorist organization”. (Tsp/AFP)
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