"Already Control a Large Part of Ukrainian Territory"
"Must Declare End and Publicize Achievements to the World"
The head of the Russian private military company Wagner Group is reported to have strongly urged President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
According to reports by The Independent and The Sun on the 15th (local time), Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group, appealed to Putin to end the war through a video posted late the previous night on Telegram.
Prigozhin said, "Russia has already seized a significant portion of Ukraine's territory," and added, "Now President Putin should declare to the world that the objective of the 'special military operation' has been achieved."
He continued, "It is time to protect the gains that the Russian military has made at great cost," emphasizing, "If the war in Ukraine drags on, the Russian people may seek scapegoats for the failure, which could escalate into a 'revolutionary fervor.'"
Prigozhin suggested that a significant portion of the male population in Ukraine has been neutralized or fled abroad during this war, and stated, "There is an urgent need to completely halt the special military operation for the sake of the regime and society as a whole."
He also reiterated, "The ideal choice is to declare the end of the special military operation and publicly announce that Russia has achieved the planned results."
The Wagner Group is a Russian private military company founded and led by Prigozhin, who is known to be a close associate of President Putin. Often called "Putin's shadow army," it had operated secretly until recently but has shifted to a more public role by deploying even prisoner soldiers and achieving results in the war in Ukraine.
Recently, The New York Times (NYT) reported, "Prigozhin wants to play a more important role within Russia beyond being the head of a mercenary company," adding, "He is nurturing political ambitions, including aiming to enter politics."
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