The Ukrainian chief mentioned the personal navy firm had suffered “enormous losses,” notably in jap Ukraine the place its “most powerful group” was combating.
“Our troops killed 21,000 Wagnerites in eastern Ukraine alone,” Zelenskyy instructed reporters in Kyiv on Saturday, including that one other 80,000 Wagner fighters had been wounded.
“These were enormous losses for the Wagner PMC,” Zelenskyy, who characterised its fighters as a “motivated staff of the Russian army” and principally convicts who “had nothing to lose”, mentioned.
CNN couldn’t independently confirm the declare by Zelenskyy, made throughout a press convention with Spanish media to coincide with a go to to Kyiv by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
The journey by Sanchez is his third go to to Ukraine.
It comes as Spain takes over the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union and follows news that CIA Director William Burns additionally lately travelled to Ukraine to satisfy with Zelenskyy and Ukrainian intelligence officers.
Zelenskyy’s claims about Wagner’s losses comes only a week after the personal navy firm’s boss Yevgeny Prigozhin led his males in an abortive rise up towards Moscow.
Wagner troops had marched towards the Russian capital, taking management of navy amenities in two Russian cities in what Prigozhin mentioned was a response to a Russian navy assault on a Wagner camp, earlier than a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko defused the disaster.
In his speech Saturday, Zelenskyy mentioned Prigozhin’s rise up had “greatly affected Russian power on the battlefield” and could possibly be useful to Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
“We need to take advantage of this situation to push the enemy out of our land,” Zelenskyy mentioned.
“They are losing the war. They have no more victories on the battlefield in Ukraine, and so they are starting to look for someone to blame,” he mentioned.
However, he mentioned the counteroffensive wouldn’t be rushed as a result of he valued human lives and wanted to be strategic in the place he despatched troops.
“Every metre, every kilometre costs lives. You can do something really fast, but the field is mined to the ground,” he mentioned.
“People are our treasure. That’s why we are very careful.”
Also throughout Saturday’s convention, Zelenskyy expressed fears of shedding bipartisan assist from the United States, following “dangerous messages coming from some Republicans”.
“Mike Pence has visited us and he supports Ukraine – first of all, as an American and then as a Republican,” Zelensky mentioned.
“We have bipartisan support however there are different messages in their circles regarding support for Ukraine.
“There are messages coming from some Republicans, typically harmful messages, that there could also be much less assist.”
“The most necessary factor for Ukraine is to not lose bipartisan assist,” he added.
When asked by a reporter if he was in danger and feared for his life, Zelensky responded: “It is extra harmful for Putin than for me, actually. Because it is solely in Russia that they need to kill me, whereas your complete world needs to kill him.”
Source: www.9news.com.au
