I feel some sympathy for the Russian draftees coerced into the fighting. But the Wagner Group? Yeah, not so much.
Wagner group has a reputation for extreme brutality. They got what they deserved.
I was surprised because the news reports a fire and the video afterward shows a bombed building.
Yeah, the debris pattern says ‘explosion’ not someone being careless with a cigarette.
“Well, we didn’t mention the cause of the fire…”
UK Intel says Russia is no go.
Putin’s visions of conquest are a pipe dream.
Jeez. Looks like UKR overlooked one in that image.
Hitler and his military leaders were astute enough to build up forces before going in to Poland.
Putin’s military didn’t remotly come close to being ready. Either the lightning strike on Kiev worked or they were screwed. They had to realize Ukraine’s government had to change before NATO could react.
However at the end Hitler was moving around “divisions” that consisted of a couple tanks and a hundred boys and old men. Looks like Putin is getting there.
So, it looks like it’s coming down to a question of how Putin is going to leave this plane of existence, a bullet in his own head, hung upside down by angry countrymen, or hung right side up by angry victors.
I think the tradition of piñatas should be exported to Ukraine and Russia.
And yes, I did know the Mussolini reference. 
Wagner are mercenaries, right? What’s the threshold on their yummy to pointy ratio?
Capturing one in four rather than destroying them all probably keeps Ukraine armor at full capacity without worrying about western sources. Seems the supplies from the east are more than enough.
I’ve wonder about mercenaries commitment? They have prior military training, modern weapons, and that gives them an advantage against irregular armed forces.
However, if the mercs are fighting dug in Ukrainian infantry would they feel obligated to slug it out for a paycheck?.
It’s trench warfare around Bakhmut. I’m not sure a Merc would sit in that freezing cold mud reading Soldier of Fortune. A paycheck isn’t much good if you aren’t alive to spend it.
Unfortunately, I’ve come to the conclusion that Wagner are mercenaries in name only. Instead, what they actually are are Putin’s Waffen SS, Janissary Corps or Republican Guard - an elite military formation that stands outside the regular army and is directly loyal to the Leader. Authoritarian regimes love units like that.
Yeah, they’re a weird beast. It’s like if the Oathkeepers decided to get some experience by working a few small wars in third world countries, then used that experience to invade Mexico on behalf of Donald Trump.
The problem is that elite warriors often won’t tolerate being used as cannon fodder.
Putin’s probably happy that the Wagnerites are stuck several hundred kilometers away…
This. To complicate that, Russia’s problem is that any offensive they launch, like their attempts in Bakhmut, are going to involve cannon fodder, because they no longer have the strength to launch blitzkrieg style offensives. That means that the Wagnerites can be used defensively or as cannon fodder in doomed offensives. Neither one of those roles is likely to appeal to them.
I thought the Wagner group was a way for Putin to send military aid without officially involving Russia. Just have someone in the destination country “hire” them and you can send them out for whatever you need done.
This is a interesting development. Melitopol was a very bad defeat for Ukraine last spring.