Leader of Russian mercenaries admits the popular character of the Ukrainian resistance, which fights "house to house"

By Juan Giglio

On January 4th, Putin's favorite mercenary Yevgeny Prigozhin visited the war front in the Donetsk area. There, this military leader, who organize the so-called "Wagner" group, tried to explain the failure of his mercenaries, who have not been able to capture the city of Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine, after months of intense fighting. 

Prigozhin stated that this occurred because there was “a fortress in every house” in Bakhmut… It sometimes takes whole weeks to clear a house. (Infobae, january 4) In this way, he implied that the war, on the part of the Ukrainian side, was assumed as its own by the entire population, which resists the invasion of Russian imperialism, entrenching itself in its neighborhoods. 

Going further with this characterization, the also nicknamed "Putin's chef", criticized the way in which the Russian Ministry of Defense reports on the war: They say: "the combined forces have advanced towards Artyomovsk and have broken through the defense"... What means “break the defense… break the defense of one house this morning, so you have to go break the defense of the next house, right? (Infobae, january 4)  

The head of the mercenaries, who operate in various regions of the planet -such as Africa or Syria- ended the report reaffirming that Each home is a fortress... because: The boys fight to (defend) each home... To say that (there are) 500 (lines of defense) would probably not be a mistake, because every 10 meters there is a defense line… The fighters confirm that there is a Ukrainian defense line every 10 meters. (Infobae, january 4)

The statements by the head of the Wagner group support our analysis that the war, beyond the fact that it is waged between two bourgeois factions, has the character of a national liberation war, since as Yevgeny Prigozhin maintains, the majority of the Ukrainian people, defend your country. This occurs not between two countries with similar characteristics, but between a semi-colony -Ukraine- and an imperialist power, Russia.  

This reality is different in Russia, where thousands of recruits recently incorporated into the imperialist occupation forces continue to desert, refusing to fight, since they have not been won over by Great Russian chauvinism. For this reason, the morale of the Putinist troops does not compare with that of the Ukrainian soldiers, who fight in an exemplary manner and maintain the offensive, despite facing an immensely superior war machine!  

Although behind this war of liberation lies another confrontation, which is the one carried out by the imperialist factions that support one or the other army, the main contradiction is the one that pushes the people to dig trenches in defense of their homeland, invaded by Russia. Unfortunately, there are still leftist parties that do not understand this basic question, which is why they directly or indirectly support Russian imperialism.  

From the Revolutionary Communist Internacional Tendency and Convergencia Socialista -its Argentine section- we will continue supporting the Ukrainian military camp, drawing lines with the imperialist forces of NATO and the bourgeois government of Zelensky. That is why we will continue to insist that the liberation of Ukraine will take place when its workers organize independently, in popular assemblies and militias, with the prospect of seizing power.

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