01:28Russia: Wagner Group founder Prigozhin meets fighters returning from Donbass
The founder of the Wagner private military company Yevgeny Prigozhin met with his fighters returning home from the Donbass at one of the airfields in Pskov.
Footage taken on Sunday, January, 22, shows Prigozhin speaking with the soldiers, many of whom are allegedly former convicts.
"Those who've been to Soledar know that Stalingrad doesn't compare [with Soledar] <…> So thank you. The homeland and the people owe you a debt of gratitude. Now you are not ex-convicts, but the Wagner private military company (PMC) fighters, and there is nothing better," he said.
"There are no enemies, everyone's a friend. There is an agreement that the law enforcement agencies treat you with respect," he continued.
Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov claimed on January 13 that the 'liberation' of Soledar in the Donetsk People's Republic had been achieved.
His department added that the storming of the city 'was successfully resolved by the courageous and selfless actions of the volunteers of the Wagner PMC assault squads', claiming that 'more than seven hundred Ukrainian servicemen have been annihilated near the town of Soledar’.
However, Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar wrote on her official Telegram channel on January 15 that the 'fighting continues'. There have been no official comments from Ukraine on the current status of the city.
Moscow launched the military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
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The founder of the Wagner private military company Yevgeny Prigozhin met with his fighters returning home from the Donbass at one of the airfields in Pskov.
Footage taken on Sunday, January, 22, shows Prigozhin speaking with the soldiers, many of whom are allegedly former convicts.
"Those who've been to Soledar know that Stalingrad doesn't compare [with Soledar] <…> So thank you. The homeland and the people owe you a debt of gratitude. Now you are not ex-convicts, but the Wagner private military company (PMC) fighters, and there is nothing better," he said.
"There are no enemies, everyone's a friend. There is an agreement that the law enforcement agencies treat you with respect," he continued.
Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov claimed on January 13 that the 'liberation' of Soledar in the Donetsk People's Republic had been achieved.
His department added that the storming of the city 'was successfully resolved by the courageous and selfless actions of the volunteers of the Wagner PMC assault squads', claiming that 'more than seven hundred Ukrainian servicemen have been annihilated near the town of Soledar’.
However, Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar wrote on her official Telegram channel on January 15 that the 'fighting continues'. There have been no official comments from Ukraine on the current status of the city.
Moscow launched the military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.