ISW told what could be real benefits for Prigozhin in Bakhmut and Soledar
The head of Wagner’s mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is trying to use Ukrainian natural resources around Bakhmut for his own financial gain.
This is stated by analysts of the American Institute for the Study of War ISW.
Thus, a source in the White House believes that Prigozhin wants to extract salt and gypsum from mines in the Bakhmut area for his own financial gain. For this, he tries to justify the importance of capturing the mines around Bakhmut and Soledar.
On January 7, Prigozhin stated that these mines have supposedly unique and historic protective structures that act as a network of underground cities.
Prigozhin also stated that personnel and military equipment can be placed in the mines at a depth of 80 to 100 meters, and weapons from the First World War are allegedly stored there.
American experts believe that receiving financial benefits from Ukrainian mines is the real reason for the slow progress of Wagner’s mercenaries around Bakhmut. And this is also the reason for the months-long and expensive effort to establish control over the territory.
A former Russian officer and blogger criticized Prigozhin and Russian military commanders, saying they all knew the mines existed when planning the offensive, and dismissed claims that World War I-era weapons were in the area.
Even if Russian troops and Wagner’s mercenaries capture Soledar, Prigozhin and the Russian commanders will lose strategically by throwing their best forces into a battle of attrition.
ISW experts previously reported that Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is trying to find business opportunities in occupied Mariupol.
Earlier it was reported that Yevgeny Prigozhin is trying to transfer responsibility for the failures in Bakhmut to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.