Prigozhin defines state to which Putin has brought Russia - Dmitry Oreshkin

He said this on Espreso TV. 

“Prigozhin is the type of person who believes that you have to get into a fight first and deal with the consequences later. He got into a fight, of course, and he is an enemy and will remain so for Shoigu and Gerasimov, but they are now forced to cooperate, because without it, they cannot take Bakhmut. If Prigozhin fails to take Bakhmut, he will be ousted, and if he does, he will present himself as a winner who has achieved something over the past year. After all, we really don't see any progress on other fronts, but in Bakhmut there is at least something. It's clear that this is a purely ideological factor, because in strategic terms it is not very important,” the Russian publicist said.

Dmitry Oreshkin noted that the capture of Bakhmut ideologically grew to the sky-high proportions of Stalingrad in 1942.

“If Prigozhin takes Bakhmut, then he has a future, so he fights for Bakhmut as if it were his life. And the future he sees, again within the limits of his impudence, is that he will try to take over a party called A Just Russia. That is, if Prigozhin loses, he is devoured, and if he wins, he will devour everyone, so he is playing to win. And that's why Putin launched him into this 'clearing,' because he needs Prigozhin as a person who sets an example, irritates, and makes the official military move more actively. But all of them together have not achieved anything so far. Even if they take Bakhmut, which is not the most important settlement in the Donetsk region, no one is talking about taking Kramatorsk and Sloviansk and reaching the borders of the Donetsk region, because they have already closed themselves off on Bakhmut alone. In this sense, Prigozhin is an interesting character as a diagnosis of the state to which Putin has brought Russia,” Oreshkin summarized.

• On April 14, the UK Ministry of Defense reported that Russia has intensified its offensive on Bakhmut due to improved cooperation between the Russian  Defense Ministry and the Wagner Group.

• On April 18, ISW analysts noted that Prigozhin was winning back Putin's favor amid the army's failures.