WASHINGTON: The Wagner group is not taking part in combat operations in Ukraine in any significant way, the US Defense Department said on Thursday, more than two weeks after the mercenary group staged a brief mutiny in Russia.
Wagner not Engaged in Ukraine in any Significant Capacity: US
In a statement, Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said, “At this phase, we do not see Wagner fighters taking part in any significant capacity in support of military operations in Ukraine,”.
The Pentagon issued the statement as Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Western supplies of arms to Kyiv would change nothing on the battleground but only further intensify the conflict, saying that foreign-made tanks were a “priority target” for Russian forces in Ukraine.
President Putin made the comments after a NATO summit in which Kyiv won a pledge of ultimate membership and also reaffirmed his position that such a move would threaten Russia’s own security and intensify international tensions further.
However, US President Joe Biden has claimed that Russian President Putin has already lost the war in Ukraine and hoped that Ukraine’s counter-offensive would force Russia to the negotiations, AFP reported on Thursday.
The US President said there was no actual prospect of the Russian President using nuclear arms and maintained the war would not drag on for years after Russians launched fresh assaults and a new bout of nuclear-sabre rattling, AFP reported.
Putin has a real issue and already lost the war,” President Biden told a news conference with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto. He claimed that there was no possibility of Putin winning the war in Ukraine.
