Russian military chief warns of new revolution in Ukraine

A new revolution could rock Russia if its stuttering war effort in Ukraine continues, the chief of the private military group Wagner has said in a scathing assessment of Moscow's military readiness that could further expose divisions in Russian President Vladimir Putin's military hierarchy.

Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an interview with Konstantin Dolgov, a pro-Russian blogger, that Moscow's troops are unprepared to resist forces loyal to Kyiv even when they enter Russian territory.

He also commended the Ukrainian army's capabilities, urging Moscow to escalate its war effort if it wants to avoid a long and costly conflict.

I believe Ukraines are today one of the strongest armies in the world, Prigozhin said. He called the forces of Kyiv highly organized, highly trained and their intelligence is at the highest level, they can operate any military system with equal success - a Soviet or a NATO one. In recent days, Moscow faced embarrassment when a group of anti-Putin Russians entered the Belgorod region in an incursion that caused anger and confusion among Russia's influential military analysts. Asked about the incident, Prigozhin said Russian defense forces are absolutely not ready to resist them in any shape or form. Here we are with Ukraine, that is our enemy, Russian Volunteer Corps groups come in effortlessly and go through the border in tanks and APCs without any repercussions and make their own videos if it, Wagner said.

Prigozhin has frequently clashed with Russia's traditional military hierarchy as he aims to win a power struggle against military commanders to lead Putin's ground effort in eastern Ukraine. Earlier in the month he blamed Russian defense chiefs for tens of thousands of Wagner casualties because they didn t have enough ammunition.

But his comments to Dolgov were alarmist even for the free-wheeling Putin ally. As he has frequently said, Prigozhin directed Moscow to step up its war in order to defeat Ukraine by urging Putin to declare a martial law and a new wave of mobilization. He warns that if Russian losses continue to mount, all these divisions can end in what is a revolution, just like in 1917. First the soldiers will stand, and after that their loved ones will rise. It is wrong to think that there are hundreds of them there are already tens of thousands of them relatives of those killed, he said. For months, Russian forces, particularly Wagner troops, have labored over the capture of Bakhmut, a town in Ukraine southeastern Ukraine, where Russia has suffered vast losses and its larger ground campaign has been in stalemate since a string of successful Ukrainian counter-attacks last autumn.