Retired US general says Wagner uprising may force Russian soldiers to rethink their mission in Ukraine

• Russia's soldiers may lose motivation in Ukraine if Wagner mutiny progresses, retired US general says.
• "No soldier wants to die in a war that he thinks might already be lost," Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges told Insider.

The Wagner Group uprising may impact the allegiances and motivations of Russian soldiers moving forward, a retired American general told Insider.

Retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges said the apparent Wagner mutiny — launched by leader Yevgeny Prigozhin on Friday — will likely have a significant effect on the rank-and-file soldiers that make up the Russian army.

"I imagine a lot of those soldiers currently deployed in Ukraine will be thinking long and hard about how enthusiastic they should be fighting against Ukrainians in a situation that must look increasingly clear to them that it is for a losing cause," Hodges said.

Prigozhin and his mercenary fighters appeared to be marching towards Moscow as of Saturday afternoon, according to local news reports and photos and videos circulating online. The move follows the group's capture of Rostov-on-Don, a key port city in Southern Russia and home to an important Russian military headquarters.

"If the High Command appears to waver or be vulnerable, they will question their own motivation and survival and sense of purpose for the war," Hodges said. "No soldier wants to die in a war that he thinks might already be lost or to be killed/terribly wounded when it's almost over."

Putin described the Wagner uprising as a "stab in the back" and said Russian forces would fight back against the mercenary group.

"This mutiny reveals the terrible state of the war for Russia...and it'll soon be increasingly apparent to Russian civilians how badly things are really going, how many Soldiers have actually been lost, etc.," Hodges said.