The failure of the Russian army in conquering Ukraine was predictable. So said Marat Gabidullin, a former Wagner Group mercenary who fought in Syria on behalf of the Kremlin.
The phone call before the start of the war
The former soldier told reporters he left the Wagner Group in 2019 but received a call from a recruiter a few months before the war began, inviting him to fight as a mercenary in Ukraine. At this point, the 55-year-old says he refused because he knew “that the Russian armed forces were not up to the task,” despite praise for the achievements in Syria alongside Bashar Al-Assad and his supporters available weapons.
The Mercenary’s Analysis: A Predictable Error
Gabidullin also has clear ideas about the siege of Kyiv: The Russian failure was predictable because the Moscow army has never faced a powerful and organized enemy in recent years, only terrorists and rioters, as in the case of Syria. The Ukrainian army, on the other hand, turned out to be trained and equipped with Western weapons. “They were surprised that the Ukrainian army resisted so fiercely and faced the actual army,” the ex-mercenary said, adding the recruiters had said they expected to face chaotic militias rather than regular, well-trained troops. “I told them they were wrong, I said, ‘Guys, it’s a mistake,'” says Gabidullin, who is now in France, where he is publishing a book about his experience with the Wagner Group.
The Kremlin denies that
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, said he didn’t know who Gabidullin was and whether he had ever been a member of private military companies: “We, the state, the government, the Kremlin can have nothing to do with it.” he said. The Russian Defense Ministry also did not respond to a request for comment.
The former military against Putin
Gabidullin is not the first soldier or former soldier to speak out against Russia’s strategy in Ukraine. Igor Girkin was among the military figures who led a pro-Kremlin armed insurgency in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and has harshly criticized the way the war in Ukraine has been conducted. Alexei Alexandrov, who took part in the 2014 rebellion, also told Reuters in March that the invasion was a mistake.
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED