Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin says the invasion of Ukraine could take ‘years’ to complete (Picture: AP/LIBKOS)

The head of Russia’s Wagner Group of mercenaries has admitted in a rare interview that it could take them years to capture territories in Eastern Ukraine.

Yevgeny Prigozhin said his understanding of the Kremlin’s plan was that it needed to fully control the proclaimed ‘people’s republics’ of Donetsk and Luhansk.

He estimated this process could take up to two years to accomplish.

Prigozhin told Russian military blogger Semyon Pegov in a video published on Friday: ‘If we have to get to the Dnipro, then it will take about three years.’

The Wagner Group have been involved in some of the heaviest fighting in the war to date (Picture: Reuters)

His comments provided a rare insight into Russian expectations of the war, from one of the central figures tasked with fighting it.

US intelligence estimates Wagner currently has about 50,000 personnel deployed to Ukraine, including 10,000 contractors and 40,000 convicts recruited from Russian prisons.

The group has been accused of committing widespread atrocities and human rights abuses, and was last month designated as a Transnational Criminal Organization. 

Prigozhin denied the charges and instead asked Washington to ‘clarify’ what crimes Wagner was accused of.

Although Prigozhin does not speak for the Russian military he has sharply raised his public profile in recent months, both via the brutality of his actions and his harsh criticism of the army leadership’s many failures throughout the duration of the war.

Speaking at times with vulgar language, Prigozhin said Russia needed to capture Bakhmut – a city in Donetsk that has been the scene of brutal warfare for months but faced fierce resistance from Ukrainian defenders.

Asked if Russian forces were close to achieving a full blockade of the city, he said: ‘It is probably too early to say that we are close. There are many roads out and fewer roads in.

‘Ukrainian troops are well trained … and like any large city it is impossible to capture it from head-on. We are managing very well.’

Prigozhin claims it could take up to three years for Russia to gain full control of its annexed republics (Picture: Getty)

Despite his reputation, Prigozhin refrained from further attacks on Russia’s military leadership throughout the interview, looking straight into the camera at one point to stress he was not criticising anyone.

He also insisted that he has ‘zero’ political ambitions.

But he also said it was important that the top command should understand the situation of the men on the front lines, adding: ‘So if a general goes into a trench and talks to the soldiers, then the soldiers frankly in the current situation will be just fucking amazed and very pleased.

‘That will be enough for them to understand they’re not sitting alone there with their problems.’

Prigozhin also said that Wagner had stopped recruiting prisoners to fight on the front lines, and denied using them as ‘cannon fodder’.

Losses among prisoners were about the same in percentage terms as for the rest of his fighters, he added.

Russia has lost an estimated 200,000 troops since the conflict began, although Putin is reportedly amassing an additional fighting force of up to 500,000 soldiers to launch a major offensive in the coming weeks.

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Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin admitted it could take Russia ‘years’ to fully control their annexed territory in Eastern Ukraine.