Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman and founder of the private military company (PMC) Wagner, expressed concern that the Ukrainian army could seize territories liberated by Russia. In his statement, he outlined a request to the country's leadership to provide him with 200 thousand fighters in order to prevent such a development of events.

Prigozhin said that today PMC "Wagner" is the only full-fledged army structure with all the components necessary for combat operations, including aircraft, helicopters, tanks, artillery and more.

“I said that I need 200 thousand people. Less than 200 thousand on the front line Lugansk-Donetsk will not cope. We are ready to take full responsibility.”, Prigozhin said in a statement.

He also clarified that the key problem at the moment is the provision of troops with weapons and ammunition. So, despite the presence of fighters prepared for combat operations, the most important factor in the success of the operation will be the availability of appropriate weapons and ammunition.