“Mr. Prigojine is above all a kind of business leader”, believes Jean-Paul Paloméros, “He wants to return to what he does in African countries where he is paid directly from the resources of these countries.”
For Yevgeny Prigojine “this war is devastating, it is losing quality men” And “money”, explained on Sunday May 7 on franceinfo General Jean-Paul Paloméros, former chief of staff of the air force and NATO commander for the transformation of military capabilities. Militia leader Wagner protested a lack of ammunition. He asked the Russian Minister of Defense on Saturday to entrust the troops of the Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, with his positions in Bakhmout, in eastern Ukraine.
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“He is in the process of negotiating his withdrawal. It’s as simple as that. He really wants to withdraw”, analyzes the general. Moreover, he believes that the Wagner militia “is not an army for a high-intensity war like the one currently taking place in Ukraine”.
franceinfo: Do you think Yevgeny Prigojine wants to withdraw from Ukraine?
Jean-Paul Palomeros: Mr. Prigojine is above all a sort of business manager. He is realizing that this war, which is not really his own, is costing him dearly in men and money. He really wants to retire. All excuses are good, including ammunition. Obviously, Moscow does not want to bear the responsibility. But it is clear that now Prigozhin thinks and says enough is enough. He wants to return to what he does in African countries where he is paid directly from the resources of these countries. This war, for him, is devastating. He’s losing quality men, he’s losing money, so it’s not a good deal at all.
Does he want to withdraw his troops before the announced counter-offensive from Ukraine?
He also feels that there is this pressure. He does not want to bear the price of defeat on his shoulders in any way. He is looking for any alibi. Ammunition is probably a good alibi. I’m pretty sure he’s on the way out for all the good or bad reasons he can come up with. He is in the process of negotiating his withdrawal. It’s that simple.
Yevgeny Prigojine focuses his criticism on the Defense Minister and spares Vladimir Putin. He’s afraid of going too far?
He is close to Mr Putin. We know very well that Wagner is a masked militia which acts for the State and on its behalf. It’s kind of a hybrid being in a way.
“He can’t blame the power that put him on a pedestal.”
General Jean-Paul Palomerosat franceinfo
Wagner cannot win alone. Wagner is not an army as such, it is a militia. It’s going very well eventually for some parts in Africa, but Wagner is not an army for a high intensity war like the one that’s going on right now in Ukraine.
What role did the Wagner militia play in the Ukrainian conflict?
It was initially for Mr. Prigojine a great publicity where he wanted to demonstrate – it’s a question of ego – that his militia could succeed where the great Russian army did not work for lots of reasons. He was not completely wrong on the analysis of the problems. But what he has forgotten is that Wagner is not an army as such. She can win very partial battles. Even Bakhmout’s, she couldn’t win on her own. Wagner’s militiamen are seasoned mercenaries. He trains them, he fetches them from the armed forces. They are obviously much better paid than the classic military. It is always an auxiliary force, but it cannot be a force in itself and alone.