last 24 48 hours. putin clearly solidly on the throne and what we need to do is everything we can, both in military and also in terms of sanctions and export controls, to enable ukraine to convince putin that he is not going to be able to out suffer the euro cranium is, the europeans and the americans. general david petraeus, europeans and the americans. general david petraeus, thank europeans and the americans. general david petraeus, thank you europeans and the americans. general david petraeus, thank you so - europeans and the americans. general david petraeus, thank you so much - david petraeus, thank you so much for coming on newsnight. sticking with that story. after the presumed death of yevgeny prigozhin, what s the future of his wagner group? its operations stretch much further than ukraine, with the mercenary group active across several countries in africa. only a few days ago, prigozhin was seen in a video trumpeting wagner s role in making africa more free . as he pu
the religion of the prophet. as the conflict between the jihadist groups increased, help from the west was pushed aside as support on the street for russia grew. many in mali look to wagner and yevgeny prigozhin, and the military operation by the french ended as the mercenary group s fighters took up arms in mali. just days ago, prigozhin appeared in this video, promising to rid countries of islamist threats. some of his supporters claim the clip was filmed in africa, possibly even in mali. translation: the wagner group conducts reconnaissance - and search activities. we make russia even greater on all continents and africa even more free. we are forjustice and happiness for the african peoples. we terrify islamic state, al-qaeda and other gangsters. even before prigozhin s death,
and therefore, the leadership is very crucial because prigozhin was a very symbolic, charismatic leader. and when this group lost this charismatic leader, it means a lot. first of all, they lose in confidence, they lose in morale, they lose in orientation. i m talking about the lower ranks, and they don t understand what to do next. for us, it s a good sign. it contributes to the stability of the regime in russia. so it creates one more crack in the pyramid of the russian criminal corrupted structure. let s talk about the fighting and the state of the war, particularly the ground war. we know that the counteroffensive is coming towards the end of its third month, and it has made gains in some areas,
bilal ag acherif, the leader of an arab rebel group in the area, told us wagner had not helped the security situation in mali. translation: in the areas of wagner are operating in, in north and central mali, they committed a lot of crimes, taking people s belongings, killing innocent people indiscriminately. they have had no positive effect on security in the areas they operate in. 0n the contrary, there are more displaced people leaving these areas. in addition to this chaos, there is a growing power vacuum. un bases like this one are pulling out, leaving more areas under thejihadist and russian influence. the chaos we have seen during ourjourney is spreading across the region. but as it grows, there s very little russia or the west can do to stop it.
but have you been disappointed that it hasn t made greater gains? our approach is very simple. we have to save lives of our people, not to waste them, as the russians do with their soldiers. and for us, the value of life is number one in our country and our culture. that s why we have to adjust to the situation on the ground in terms of the minds, in terms of the fortifications, to adjust, adapt our tactics and our equipment. so for us, it s not a matter of time, this counter offensive. it s a matter of success. every day, step by step, we are liberating our territories. sometimes 100 metres, sometimes one kilometre. but it s a steady process, and we will keep it coming as long as it s necessary. we have to keep in mind that now, after one and a half years of this war, ukraine is on the offensive and russia is in defense.