Head of Russia's Wagner mercenaries has eyes on Bakhmut mines: US
The United States is of the view that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ally Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Russia’s Wagner Group, is interested in taking control of salt and gypsum from mines near the Ukrainian-held city of Bakhmut, a White House official said.
There are indications that monetary motives are driving Russia and Prigozhin’s “obsession” with Bakhmut, the official told the Reuters news agency on Thursday.
The US has previously accused Russian mercenaries of exploiting natural resources in the Central African Republic (CAR), Mali, Sudan and elsewhere to help fund Moscow’s war in Ukraine, a charge Russia has rejected as “anti-Russian rage”.
Out of Wagner’s force of nearly 50,000 mercenaries, more than 4,100 have been killed and 10,000 others wounded in Ukraine. Of them, more than 1,000 were killed between late November and early December near Bakhmut, the official said.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/head-of-russia-s-wagner-mercenaries-has-eyes-on-bakhmut-mines-us/ar-AA161mW0
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