Wagner Group Chief Desires Lucrative Minerals From Bakhmut Mins: WH Official

• A White House official told ReutersWagner Group’s head wants Bakhmut to supply salt and gypsum.
• This could explain Russia and Yevgeny Petrozhin’s “obsession” with seizing the capital.
• Prigozhin denied that he was interested on Telegram in the city’s mineral resources.

A White House official stated that the US believes that Yevgeny Privozhin, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ally, wants valuable salt or gypsum from the mines near Bakhmut, Ukraine. 

The official told Reuters Thursday’s news that Russia and Prigozhin might have a financial motive for their “obsession” with Bakhmut, the site of brutal fighting in recent months, was reported by the Associated Press.

Mercenaries from Wagner Group, a private paramilitary group have been fighting alongside Russian armed forces on the frontlines in Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine.

Due to the high number of deaths on both sides, the fighting has been called a “meat grinder”. However, exact figures are not known.

Russia’s goal to take more control over the Donbas region by capturing Bakhmut is a good thing, but analysts have pointed out that Bakhmut offers many advantages. little strategic advantage. 

Russian forces could have concentrated so much effort there because of their desire to capture the city’s natural resources.

The fighting around Bakhmut cost the Wagner Group a lot of blood. According to Reuters, more than 1,000 people were killed in combat between late November and early Dezember. 

Bakhmut’s salt deposits, which are of the highest purity, are enormous. Before the war tourists could visit the vast vaults, which included a football field, a church,  labyrinths, and a concert hall.

The United States has previously accusedRussian mercenaries who exploit the natural resources of African countries, including Mali, Central African Republic, and Sudan to finance Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

The Wagner Group, which is aligned the Kremlin, has a strong presence in several African nations. Russia dismissed the accusations as “anti Russian rage.”

Telegram: Prigozhin denied that he was interested mineral deposits in Bakhmut, and instead referred back to historical battlefield victories.

According to Telegram, he stated that “Bakhmut today” is the place where two armies such as Kulikovo, Borodino and other historical examples must be destroyed. The Telegraph. “And it seems that we are succeeding.”

September video footage emergedPrigozhin recruits fighters from Russian prisons, promising their freedom if the fight in Ukraine.

The first batch of ex-convicts was freed this week After they have completed their service in Ukraine.