Mercenary leader Prigozhin says Russia faces resistance in taking Bakhmut

The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group said in a rare interview made public on Friday that Russian forces must capture the strategic city of Bakhmut to proceed with their campaign but faced fierce resistance from Ukrainian defenders.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, interviewed by a Russian military correspondent, said Russia had to establish clear goals in its nearly year-old campaign: firmly establish its presence in eastern Ukraine or push forward to capture more of the country.
Moscow invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, eight years after it annexed the Crimean peninsula and its proxies took large swaths of territory in eastern Ukraine, styling them as the “people’s republics” in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Prigozhin, an entrepreneur and restaurateur, has attracted attention as fighting raged in this campaign. He has criticised Russia’s military leadership and certain officials.
Wagner troops have played a large role, particularly last month in capturing the town of Soledar – outside Bakhmut, which has endured months of combat and bombardment and is known to both sides as the “meat grinder”.