War in Ukraine: Bakhmut – Mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin came for easy prey and is now in a dilemma

Berlin Yevgeny Prigozhin miscalculated – possibly enormously. For months, the head of the Wagner group of mercenaries openly criticized the Russian military leadership for its incompetence, while stylizing himself and his fighters as the driving force behind an otherwise crippling army.

In reality, his mercenaries are dying in their thousands at the front in Bakhmut and have been trying for months to conquer a city that, according to experts, has almost no strategic value, but high symbolic value.

“Everyone wants to know when we’ll finally take Artemowsk,” Prigozhin said to a handful of fighters sitting in a dimly lit basement in front of him. Artjomovsk is the Russian name for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. He provides the answer himself in a video that shows the scene and appeared on social media at the turn of the year.