Wagner mercenaries withdraw from Ukraine

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It’s great news from the war front: Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin (61) has apparently announced that he will be withdrawing his mercenaries from all over the frontline in Ukraine from June 1. This is reported by the always well-informed Institute for War Studies (ISW).

The deduction is intended to give the exhausted troops a break, as well as to train and regroup them. In two months, the group wants to intervene in the war again. Wagner wants to hand over conquered areas, such as the city of Bachmut, to the official Russian army on Thursday.

Are the Wagner squads, largely made up of convicted criminals, really coming back, or is it a final backdoor retreat? The fact is that the Russian invaders in Ukraine have met unexpected resistance and are making little progress.

In addition, the major counter-offensive of the Ukrainian army, armed with Western weapons, is imminent. It is estimated that more than 30,000 Wagner members have been killed or wounded since the beginning of the war.

« Face-Saving Retreat »

Russia expert Ulrich Schmid (57) from the University of St. Gallen thinks that the Wagner Group will not return to Ukraine. “The Wagner model has come to an end,” he says. Prigozhin tried to support his own ambitions with military successes.

The balance is sobering, says Schmid. “The cost of blood in the Wagner group is enormous, the strategic importance of the land gains is low. The recruitment in the prisons is now being fought by the army.”

There is also a precarious deal between Wagner and the Russian Ministry of Defense: Wagner deploys his fighters on dangerous missions, while the Ministry of Defense supplies arms and ammunition, but these have not materialized recently. In the battle for influence and command, Defense appears to be gaining the upper hand against Wagner. Schmid says: “Prigozhin can withdraw face-saving with the ‘victory’ in Bakhmut.”

Full-scale aggression in Africa?

With the withdrawal from Ukraine, Prigozhin and his troops can concentrate on operations in a dozen African countries. Wagner is active in Libya, Burkina Faso, Mali, Sudan, Cameroon and the Central African Republic, among others. French President Emmanuel Macron (45) recently described the Wagner Group as “life insurance for failing regimes in Africa”.

In states left to their own devices and governed by fragile governments, it is easier to influence political power and secure lucrative rights to gold and diamond mines.

The missions in Africa also have another goal. Colin P. Clarke of the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia writes in an article: “Access to resources helps Russian President Vladimir Putin evade oppressive Western sanctions.”

The question is how Russian President Vladimir Putin (70) wants to fill the vacuum of the Wagner Group. Last month, the British Ministry of Defense released an intelligence update. It revealed that “Russia will likely seek to sponsor and develop alternative private military companies to replace the Wagner Group in its important combat role in Ukraine.”

Source: Blick