Messaging Authorities : Confused Yet?

"A pessimistic scenario: the Ukrainians are given missiles, they prepare troops, of course they will continue their offensive, try to counterattack."

"They will attack Crimea, they will try to blow up the Crimean bridge [to the Russian mainland], cut off [our] supply lines."

"Therefore, we need to prepare for a hard war."

"[Russia's invasion goal of] demilitarizing [Ukraine backfired since Kyiv's military is stronger with the supply of weapons and training by its western allies]."

"We are withdrawing units from Bakhmut today."

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin

Yevgeny Prigozhin speaks to Wagner soldiers in Bakhmut   Reuters

"We can see that the military command as well as the political establishments of the Russian Federation are not ready for this situation."

"They have invested billions in strengthening their line but when it comes to action, everything falls apart and nothing is working."

"I think you will see us again on that side [within Russian territory]."

"I cannot reveal those upcoming things, I cannot even reveal the direction. The … border is pretty long. Yet again there will be a spot where things will get hot."

Denis Kapustin, commander, Russian Volunteer Corps.

 

"We as an official state have nothing to do with these events [striking cross-border from Ukraine within Russia]."

"These are Russian citizens that are doing this as a means to express their attitude towards what is going on in Russia."

"This demonstrates to us that they are not ready for the challenges that are to come, not just in the Belgorod oblast but in any territorial unit of Russia [potential for further uprisings by Russian rebel groups.]"

"The capacity and strengths of the Russian chain of command will not be enough. The system has stopped working. The FSB [Federal Security Service] is supposed to be controlling the border. The question arises: where is the FSB?"

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary, Ukraine national security and defence council

According to the latest wildcat revelations of Russia's private army Wagner Group head, over 20,000 men had been killed in the drawn-out battle for Bakhmut, roughly half of whom were Russian convicts recruited to fight in the conflict. Moscow claims that just over 6,000 of its  troops were killed during the war. Official Soviet troop losses in the 1979-89 war in Afghanistan saw a total of 15,000 Russian servicemen losing their lives, as a point of contrast. 

According to analysts, tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed during the Bakhmut nine-month fight, among them Russian convicts who were reported to have received little training before they were sent to the front.  In an interview with Konstantin Dolgov, pro-Kremlin political strategist, Mr. Prigozhin stated Russian forces had killed civilians despite Moscow' vehement denials.

Earlier in the month a video of Prigozhin published by his media team featured him shouting, swearing claiming the 30 uniformed bodies on the ground around him were Wagner fighters all of whom died that very day. The Russian Defence Ministry, he said, had starved his men of ammunition. He threatened to leave the fight for Bakhmut. In Tuesday's interview he claimed it was possible that the anticipated counteroffensive given continued Western support could push Russian forces out of southern and eastern Ukraine along with annexed Crimea.

The following day the Ukrainian General Staff spoke of "heavy fighting" continuing within Bakhmut, days following Russia having said it had completely captured the devastated city in Donetsk province, one of four provinces annexed last fall by Russia.  It took another day and Moscow announced its forces had crushed a cross-border raid from Ukraine.

On the other hand, in Russia's southern Belgorod region, Russian forces claimed to have shot down "a large number" of drones following a day when Moscow had announced its forces had crushed a cross-border raid in the area, from Ukraine. According to the Belgorod Governor the drones were intercepted overnight and another shot down on Wednesday outside the local capital city Belgorod.

 

Wagner head warns of revolution unless elite gets serious about war – still from video

"This divide [social disparity underlined by the war, with the sons of the poor being sent back from the front in zinc coffins while the children of the elite 'shook their arses' in the sun] can end as in 1917 with a revolution."

"First the soldiers will stand up, and after that – their loved ones will rise up. There are already tens of thousands of them – relatives of those killed. And there will probably be hundreds of thousands – we cannot avoid that."

Wagner Group Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin