Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia’s Wagner Group, a private mercenary army, has warned that Russia might face a “revolution” and lose its war in Ukraine if the country’s leaders don’t fully commit to the fight. He suggests that Russia should go into “North Korea mode,” meaning that martial law should be imposed to improve results on the front lines. Prigozhin criticized Russia’s elites, specifically Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his daughter Ksenia, for living carefree lives while other people’s children come home in coffins.
In a video interview, he warned about a possible uprising similar to the Russian Revolution in 1917 if these inequalities continue. He stated that the war in Ukraine isn’t going well for Russia, due to strategic blunders and vague goals. Although he didn’t criticize President Vladimir Putin, he blamed the Defense Minister and the Chief of General Staff for poor organization and corruption, leading to the Russian forces being unprepared for Ukraine’s resistance.
Prigozhin shared his belief that the war in Ukraine could escalate further, with Ukraine potentially receiving more Western support and launching a counteroffensive. He thinks Russia needs to prepare for a “hard war” and suggested imposing martial law to avoid losing Russia. He revealed that his group has recruited 50,000 convicts from Russian prisons for the war, with 20% of them having died, along with 10,000 other hired forces.
