Building near oil pipeline damaged by drones in Russia – rts.ch

In Ukraine, the Russian army will be stationed in Bagmouth. Regular forces will replace Wagner, the paramilitary group responsible for capturing the eastern Ukrainian city last weekend.

Wagner, the founder of the paramilitary group, released a video on Thursday in which he announced the transfer of control of the city of Baghmoud to the Russian military. [Press service of “Concord” – Reuters]Wagner’s boss, Yevgeny Prigojine, announced Thursday the start of a reshuffle of positions at the Russian military command, a move the troubled deputy army chief continues to criticize.

A symbolic victory

Capturing the city “will not change the situation of this war,” Lucas Aubin, director of research at the Institute for International and Strategic Relations (IRIS), assessed at the Thursday forum. However, Wagner’s leader comes out strong because his goal is to “get the spoils of war”. Although losses among his men were heavy, the withdrawal would allow him to regain strength.

Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, Evgeny Prigozhin “has become increasingly prominent in the political structure chart of the Russian Federation,” the geopolitical scientist analyzes. “So far he has been a puppet, serving Russian interests abroad, especially in Africa.” As Wagner’s power grew, his leader “would begin to have political ambitions”.

He did not cross the red line

Drawing on his experience in the field, he takes the liberty of criticizing his country’s elite, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. But the deputy army commander “has not yet fully crossed the Rubicon”, the expert underlines: Yevgeny Prigozhin does not criticize President Vladimir Putin. “There are limits in Russia that we have not crossed,” notes the author of the book “Geopolitics of Russia” published by La Decovert Editions.

>> Listen to Lukas Aubin’s interview on the forum on Thursday:

Information Beware of the “fog of war”.

Lukas Aubin also warns that it is difficult to find the truth in the communications of the various actors in the conflict. This is the famous “fog of war”. He takes the example of Bachmouth, because Ukraine says the city has not completely fallen. He is also instigating a Ukrainian counteroffensive, often announced, but we don’t know when, where, or how it will happen.

“At the moment, we’re on notice effects on both sides,” warns the analyst. “We realize we don’t know much. We always have to use stipulations, put quotation marks and be careful with the information we release.”

An almost motionless forehead

However, the expert from the Russian world declares that in his view one important fact must be taken into account: “For now, the two armies are watching each other like boys’ dogs. Obviously this battle front is located in Bagmouth. But overall, the front line has not changed much for some time. For this counterattack We are waiting. The interesting thing is that a lot of people are talking about it. But in the end, not much is happening,” he argues.

Another example: we don’t know much about the Russian army, its position, its number of men or its strategy.