We did not feel that the occupiers' defence got weaker – Zaluzhnyi about Wagner mutiny

The unsuccessful march of the Wagnerites to Moscow did not affect the counteroffensive or combat operations at the front; the Ukrainian forces did not feel that the defence of the occupiers got weaker.

Source: Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in an interview with The Washington Post

Details: The media outlet writes that if anyone thinks that the Ukrainian counteroffensive got a good boost last weekend when Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner PMC, led a group of mercenaries on an assault towards Moscow, Zaluzhnyi is not sure about it.

According to him, the Wagnerites had already withdrawn from the front line after capturing Bakhmut, so there were no noticeable changes on the battlefield when the mutiny took place.

Quote from Zaluzhnyi: " We didn't feel that their [the Russian occupation forces - ed.) defence got weaker somewhere or anything.

Details: WP recalls that Wagner militants who do not want to stay in Russia or sign contracts with the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation will have the opportunity to join Prigozhin in Belarus. In this case, Zaluzhnyi may have to consider a new, additional threat to Ukraine's northern border.

"I have a lot of fears, and Wagner is among them. And they’re not the only ones. If we start talking about it now, my head will spin. … Our task is to prepare for the worst and most possible scenarios. And we will try to minimise the possible consequences of what could be", concluded Zaluzhnyi.

Background:

• On the evening of 23 June, Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed that the regular Russian army had launched a missile strike on the Wagner mercenaries’ rear camps. He has therefore deployed 25,000 of his mercenaries "to restore justice".
• Prigozhin claimed that his forces had taken control of military facilities in Rostov-on-Don, including the air base, and were heading "to Moscow" and that his soldiers had shot down at least three Russian helicopters. Wagner mercenaries have also seized military facilities in the Russian city of Voronezh.
• In an emergency address on 24 June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is "fighting for survival" and that attempts are being made to "organise a rebellion" in the country.
• The Russian Presidential Administration (AP) feared that within a few hours, Evgeny Prigozhin's Wagnerians could be near Moscow and fighting would break out near the capital. According to Ukrainian intelligence, Putin urgently left Moscow for Valdai. A convoy of the Wagner Group was spotted 400 km from Moscow.
• On Saturday evening, after a conversation with Alexander Lukashenko, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Prigozhin announced that his mercenaries were turning their convoys around and going back to set up field camps. Later, it was reported that the criminal case against Prigozhin was to be closed and he would "go to Belarus".
• According to Russian pro-war media and telegram channels, during the rebellion, 13 to 20 people were killed as a result of the Wagner Group’s rebellion.
• The Russian army also suffered losses in equipment: according to Vazhnye Istorii [Important Stories], a Russian media outlet, these include three Mi-8 electronic warfare helicopters, one transport Mi-8 helicopter, two attack helicopters (Ka-52 and Mi-35M), as well as an Il-22M command post aircraft and two armoured vehicles (KamAZ and Tigr). The Wagner PMC lost two UAZs, one KamAZ and a VPK-Ural armoured vehicle.
• At the same time, according to the Russian service of Radio Liberty, citing estimates by the Dutch Oryx project, the Wagnerites shot down an Il-22M aircraft and six Russian army helicopters during the mutiny.
• Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, acknowledged the deaths of Russian pilots during the rebellion by the mercenaries of the Wagner Group, but he did not make any high-profile statements on this matter. On the contrary, he met with the heads of law enforcement agencies and thanked them for "suppressing" the rebellion of Wagner Group mercenaries and also thanked the Wagners fighters themselves for "not resorting to fratricidal bloodshed".

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