“certain goals have been achieved”, but the situation with Ukraine is complicated

The press secretary of the Kremlin Dmitry Peskov gave an interview to the TV channel ATV from Bosnia and Herzegovina. In a conversation with journalists, Peskov commented on Russia’s war against Ukraine.

According to the representative of the Russian president, the situation remains difficult, but in an hour “determined goals have been achieved”. Peskov claims that because of the shelling of Donetsk and other cities, Russia must “push the opponent to a sufficient distance, so the operation will be continued.”

Commenting on the slow progress of the Russian army at the front, Peskov said that “Russia is not at war,” but is conducting a “military operation.” “Waging war is total destruction of infrastructure, total destruction of cities, and so on. We don’t do this,” Peskov noted.

Western countries accuse Russia of war crimes on the territory of Ukraine, including murder and torture of civilians, shelling of civilian objects and others. In March, the International Court of Justice in The Hague issued a warrant for the arrest of the President of Russia. Among other things, Vladimir Putin is accused of illegally transporting Ukrainian children to Russia or to regions of Ukraine occupied by Russian troops.

Answering a question about the battles for Bakhmut, which have been going on for several months, Peskov noted that there is a “very emotional situation” in the region. The representative of the Kremlin did not mention the conflict between the founder of PMC “Wagner” Evgeny Prigozhin and the Ministry of Defense of Russia. Prigozhin had earlier harshly accused the department of a lack of ammunition.

“I will not name anyone’s last name, but I will say that regardless of what they say and what statements they make, it is about the Armed Forces of Russia. These are all Russian forces. These are all the same forces that always pursue the same goal,” said the president’s press secretary.

• The other day, Prigozhin announced that mercenaries from PMC “Wagner” will leave their positions in Bakhmut after May 10 due to a lack of ammunition. He accused the Ministry of Defense of Russia, personally the head of the department, Sergei Shoigu, and the chief of the General Staff of Russia, Valery Gerasimov, who commands the combined group, for this.
• In the evening of May 6, Prigozhin published a detailed text about the conflict between the PMC and the Ministry of Defense. It follows that due to the counteraction of the PMC department, it suffers heavy losses, does not get the opportunity to recruit reinforcements, and is “actually bled to death.”
• Alexander Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, reported that in the Bakhmut area, Ukrainian forces launched a counterattack and in some areas were able to regain control over part of the territory. Prigozhin previously claimed that the Russian units also left their positions. However, according to US data, PMC “Wagner” still holds 85% of Bakhmut and, despite heavy losses, does not plan to completely abandon the garden.