When Yevgeny Prigozhin turned his back on Russia’s war to assail his own military leaders in an armed revolt and march on Moscow, many Ukrainians described feeling incredulity and giddiness.
Within a day, the revolt suddenly ended, however, and only their incredulity remained.
The mercenary leader’s sudden reversal and announcement of a deal with the Kremlin dashed Ukrainian hopes for a government-toppling insurrection. While many in Ukraine believed it left Russia in political and military turmoil that would surely have injured President Vladimir Putin and his government, the unrelenting and existential war remained the focus.
As Prigozhin, who leads the Wagner mercenary group, pushed toward Moscow on Saturday, more than 50 rockets were fired at Ukraine, including one that hit an apartment complex in Kyiv and killed several civilians, according to Ukrainian officials. At the same time, Ukrainian forces routed a series of Russian offensives in the country’s east.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country’s forces had advanced “in all directions” on Monday, although did not attribute the alleged victories to the chaos and uncertainty in Russia.
“Of course whenever an opportunity arises and exposes a vulnerability of the enemy, that opportunity will be used,” Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister, said from Kyiv. “But I don’t think it’s helpful for us to look at the events of yesterday as some unique opportunity for anything. For us, it is important to stay focused on our military objectives.”
Ukrainian officials said they viewed these recent events in Russia as a distraction. The country needed to remain focused on its counteroffensive, although some admitted hope that the West might see this as an opportunity to press Moscow further by providing further weapons more quickly and backing Ukraine’s bid for NATO membership next month.
Whatever “the real purpose of this charade,” Ukraine remains focused on its military plans. It is Ukraine’s only clear path to ending the war, Sak said.
The former head of Britain’s army advised Ukrainian officials to take advantage of the disarray and continue “probing attacks along the Russian defensive line” and discover where to deploy highly skilled and Western-trained attack brigades.
“This is a moment of opportunity for the Ukrainians,” Gen. Richard Dannatt told Sky News, though he warned that Kyiv should monitor their northern flank and Prigozhin’s activity in Belarus.
Ukraine’s military did appear to seize on the momentary turmoil created by Prigozhin’s efforts. Hanna Maliar, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, announced a multipronged attack near Bakhmut, the city that the Wagner mercenary group had helped capture at the cost of thousands of lives.
Prigozhin shook the Russian establishment when he called Russia’s stated reasons for the invasion “lies” by military and government leaders.
But then the former close confidant of Putin suddenly announced the end of Wagner’s march Saturday. Russia said he would be exiled to Belarus and his mercenaries would be moved under the military.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the dramatic events were to Ukraine’s advantage.
Ukraine “continues to move forward with a counteroffensive,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “These are early days, but they haven’t had what they need to be successful. It’s going to unfold over weeks and even months, but this just creates another problem for Putin.”
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