Day 340: Russia's Wagner Group Claims to Control Blagodatnoye

Facts

• On Sunday, the head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed that his forces had taken control of the small but significant Donetsk town of Blagodatnoye. Posting an audio recording of remarks by a commander of an assault unit, Prigozhin said: "The units of the Wagner PMC took Blagodatnoye. Blagodatnoye is under our control."
• However, Ukraine's military chief rejected Prigozhin's claims noting, "Units of Ukraine's Defence Forces repelled the attacks of the occupiers in the areas of... Blahodatne [sic]... in the Donetsk region."
• Meanwhile, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak stated that Ukraine and its Western allies were engaged in "fast-track" talks on equipping Kyiv with long-range missiles and military aircraft, which he believed "will reduce fatalities, reduce the burden on infrastructure, reduce security threats to the European continent, and keep the war localized."
• US military officials are also reportedly pushing the Pentagon to approve sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine as Kyiv steps up its campaign to protect its skies from Russia's missile and drone attacks, claw back ground occupied by Russian forces, and retake territory in the spring.
• Elsewhere, Russian missiles on Saturday reportedly struck the residential district of Kostyantynivka in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk province, killing three civilians, injuring 14, and damaging four high-rise apartment buildings, a hotel, and garages.
• Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Armed Forces reportedly killed 650 Russian soldiers and destroyed eight tanks, seven artillery systems, ten fuel trucks, and 22 armored combat vehicles in the last 24 hours.

Sources: Tass, Reuters, Associated Press, Politico, CBC, and Ukrinform.

Narratives

• Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by The Washington Post. Arming Ukraine is crucial to help maintain Ukraine's electricity, heating, and water, as well as fend off Russia's systematic missile attacks. The clock is ticking loudly. It's time for Ukraine to arm up to win back its territory. Mighty tanks — both M-1 Abrams and Leopard 2 — and F-16s could turn the tide of a war that has threatened to descend into a prolonged stalemate.
• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by Al Jazeera. It is no secret that Ukraine's war effort would have collapsed long back without the West's support. The 11-month-long Western intervention now threatens to escalate the Russia-Ukraine conflict into an all-out direct war between NATO and Russia. The move to arm Ukraine with modern offensive weapons is extremely dangerous and takes the conflict to a new level of confrontation.

Predictions