Russian troops ill-prepared for Ukraine war, says ex-Kremlin mercenary

All-terrain armoured vehicles of pro-Russian troops drive along a road during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the village of Bezimenne in the Donetsk region, Ukraine May 7, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

NEUILLY-SUR-SEINE, France (Reuters) - The Russian military's failure to seize the Ukrainian capital was inevitable because in the preceding years they had never directly faced a powerful enemy, according to a former mercenary with the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group who fought alongside the Russian army.

Marat Gabidullin took part in Wagner Group missions on the Kremlin's behalf in Syria and in a previous conflict in Ukraine, before deciding to go public about his experience inside the secretive private military company.