Ekaterina Prisyazhnyuk09:01, 01/06/23
Putin’s “cook” is interested in control over minerals, the journalists found out.
The Russian authorities and a Russian businessman, the owner of the private military company Wagner (PMC Liga), Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is called the “cook” of President Vladimir Putin, want to seize Bakhmut in the Donetsk region for their own profit.
There are signs that the “obsession” of the Russian Federation and Prigozhin with Bakhmut is driven by monetary motives, writes Reuters , citing the words of a White House official.
“The United States is of the opinion that … Prigozhin … is interested in gaining control over salt and gypsum from mines located near … the city of Bakhmut,” the agency’s interlocutor said.
(C)UNIAN 2023
Thieving is what RuZZian scum do. They want the mineral riches that lie on the soil, under the soil and under the sea of Ukraine’s coast. They will happily kill every single Ukrainian to get that.
That is why orcs have to be killed in Stalin-type quantities. It has to be at least 2000/day to guarantee victory.
So give Ukraine what she needs. ALL of it.
I don’t believe that at all. Like, none of it.
The infrastructure for mining is probably already ruined and the area is too unsafe for any profitable operations.
And I think he is not this stupid that he is really confident Russia is going to hold this area for long.
I do think the reason is because if he manages to capture Bakhmut, he will become a way more powerful man as he is the only one getting anything done.
I think he is trying to become Putin’s second hand, defence minister or replace him entirely.
He is constantly spitting dirt on the Russian army while praising his own mercenaries. If he captures Bakhmut, he could claim is he basically fighting the war on its own.
I don’t believe anyone that claims for example the war in the Donbas is about resources. Russia has plenty of untapped natural resources and I think the Donbas lacks the infrastructure, security and skilled men to set up anything profitable.
The Donbas already was a huge money drain on the Ukrainian budget before 2014 and was only kept afloat because of subsidies from Kyiv, despite people over there being convinced they were making all the money.
Even if you work hard in a coal mine it doesn’t mean you are earning any money if the mine is operating at a loss, at best you are reducing the loss.
Without access to Western markets, Russia cannot get the equipment to get valuable materials out of the soil, which is also why only a small portion of all goodies the Russian soil is gifted with is even being touched.
Why would you search for new sources if you can for example tap Soviet era oil wells without the need for any investment if you are an oligarch?
Russia cannot even properly use their own resources, let alone they can set up anything profitable in the Donbas.