Putin Ally Challenges Ukraine's Zelenskyy For Aerial Duel: 'If You Have The Will, We Will Meet In The Skies'

The head of Russia’s mercenary group Wagner challenged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for an aerial duel over Bakhmut.

What Happened: Yevgeny Prigozhin, on Monday, shared a cockpit video and said he was on a fighter jet that had bombed Bakhmut — which has turned into an epicenter of fighting in eastern Ukraine.

In the video, Vladimir Putin's key ally Prigozhin appeared inside a Su-24 bomber plane flying in darkness, wearing a helmet and a pilot mask. He said that he would board a Mig-29 fighter jet the next day.

“We are landing, we bombed Bakhmut,” the businessman and the chief of Wagner said.

See Also: Putin Promised Not To Kill Zelenskyy, Says Ex-Israeli PM Who Served Briefly As Mediator

“If you have the will, we will meet in the skies. If you win, you will take Artemovsk (the Russian name for Bakhmut), if not, we will go until the Dnipro (River),” Prigozhin said.

The comments came hours after the Ukrainian parliament adopted a resolution denouncing the Wagner group, whose men are fighting alongside Russian soldiers in the Ukraine war.

“We are preparing to destroy Wagner as a component of international terrorism,” Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, said.

The recognition was a “step towards bringing them [Wagner] to justice,” Yermak added.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on Saturday vowed to fight for Bakhmut “as long as we can.”

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