en War Russia vs Ukraine Damage in Mariupol and Wagner group: key Pentagon statements

Damage in Mariupol and Wagner group: key Pentagon statements

30 March 2022, 22:13

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Damage in Mariupol and Wagner group: key Pentagon statements - en

The damage caused by Russia’s continued bombardment on the Ukrainian city of Mariupol is “devastating,” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said during a briefing at the Pentagon on Wednesday.

The “significant damage” has been inflicted on “civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, hospitals, recreation, park, everything,” Kirby added.

Read here The Donetsk region: Russians fired at the civilian population

About 1,000 Wagner group fighters are now in Donbas region

“We think that the Wagner group now has about 1,000 people dedicated to the Donbas. ... We have seen them prioritize airstrikes in the Donbas area,” Kirby said.

Wagner contractors have been fighting in the Donbas “over the last eight years, so this is an area where the Wagner group is experienced,” Kirby added.

Kyiv and Putin

The Department of Defense said they’ve seen around 20% of Russia’s forces that had been moving against Kyiv “repositioning,” with some heading to Belarus, over the last 24 hours.

Kirby said the US does not have “access to every bit of information that” Putin has been given or “every conversation that he’s had,” but he said he concurs with the “basic finding” of press reporting that Putin has not been fully informed by his Defense Ministry of the situation in Ukraine.