The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group said in an interview published on Friday that Russian forces must capture the strategic town of Bakhmut to continue their campaign, but faced stiff resistance from Ukrainian defenders, Reuters reported.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, in an interview with a Russian military correspondent, said that Russia needs to set clear goals in its nearly year-long campaign: either to strengthen its presence in eastern Ukraine, or to advance to conquer most of it in that country.

Wagner’s troops have played a major role in the war, most notably last month in capturing the town of Soledar, near Bakhmut, a town that has been bombarded and fiercely fought for months, with soldiers on both sides calling him the “(people) chopper”. “.

“Bakhmut is necessary so that our troops can operate comfortably,” Prigozhin said.

“Why is it called a shredder? Because the Ukrainian army is sending more and more units,” he explained.

“Probably, it is still too early to say that we are close (to conquering Bakhmut). There are many exits and fewer entrances. Ukrainian troops are well trained… and, like any big city, it cannot be captured from its place. We are doing very well,” said Chief Wagner.

“First we have to quietly take Artemivsk, and then we can say loud and clear that we have taken it,” he added, referring to Bakhmut by its Soviet name, which Moscow also used.

The battles to take Soledar, which began after the failure to capture Bakhmut, can be compared to the six months of fighting it took the Soviet army to take Stalingrad, Prigozhin also said.