Bakhmut dispute between Moscow and Prigozhin?

"Putin's cook" wants to deny guilt

Created: 01/05/2023 05:17

By: Bettina Menzel

Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin attends the funeral of a Wagner Group fighter who died in the Ukraine War at a cemetery outside St. Petersburg.

© picture alliance/dpa/AP |

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Wagner boss Prigozchin is gaining more and more power.

Now the Putin confidante blames the Kremlin for the lack of progress in Bakhmut.

Bakhmut - In the Ukraine war, the battle for Bakhmut apparently reached its culmination point.

This emerges from a report by the US war researchers at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank.

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozchin now wants to blame the Russian Ministry of Defense for the lack of progress in the region.

Vladimir Putin's man for the rough seems to be gaining ground in Russia.

Will he pose a threat to Putin?

Culminating point reached in Bakhmut: decisive turning point for Prigozhin

The forces of the Wagner Group are currently unable to break through the Ukrainian defenses in the Bakhmut region.

This was confirmed by the head of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in an interview broadcast by the Russian state news agency Ria Novosti, to which the think tank ISW referred in a report on Tuesday.

The Wagner Group financier explained that the mercenary force's offensive efforts at Bakhmut were extremely grueling because every house was a "fortress", the Ukrainians had defensive lines every ten meters, and Russian forces had to clear building by building.

This is a decisive turning point for Prigozhin, according to the analysis of the ISW experts.

As late as October, the Putin confidant had declared that his troops in the region were advancing 100 to 200 meters a day.

But now he has admitted that the Wagner forces in Bachmut cannot achieve any success.

The ISW had previously spoken of a "culmination point" in the battle for Bachmut.

This means that the Russian armed forces could no longer continue their attack efforts to the same extent as they had for months, explained former NATO General Erhard Bühler in the podcast "What is to be done, Mr. General".

The Russian army could no longer advance on Bakhmut in company and battalion strength, but in groups of only five to ten men.

The Wagner people would also have to be supported by Russian airborne troops. 

War in Ukraine: Wagner group complains about lack of equipment

There is a lack of enough armored vehicles, ammunition and 100mm grenades to breach Ukraine's defenses in Bakhmut, Wagner Group soldiers complained in an allegedly scripted video clip.

This represents an attempt to blame the Russian Ministry of Defense or industry for the lack of progress in Bakhmut - and to relieve Prigozhin himself of responsibility, according to the analysis of the ISW experts.

The Wagner boss had recently criticized the Kremlin several times – both in the closest leadership circle and publicly – and had reported discrepancies in the Russian circle of power.

The Kremlin boss and Prigozhin are actually considered confidants.

They met decades ago, when ex-KGB officer Putin was still working at the St. Petersburg city government and reportedly dined at Prigozhin's restaurant, earning Prigozhin the nickname "Putin's chef."

In the course of the Ukraine war, however, the Russian entrepreneur gained more and more power.

Political observers see this as a sign of Putin's loss of control, whom the Russians, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, ultimately see as responsible for a large number of defeats in the Ukraine war.

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Prigozhin's power in Russia is growing - can he become a threat to Putin?

In the past, the ISW analysts have repeatedly dealt with the possible ambitions of the Wagner boss to become President of Russia.

The US analysts saw Prigozhin's interview with the Russian television channel RT as an attempt to gain respect and influence in Russia with pithy words and populist views.

One of Prigozhin's proposals was that everything should be taken away from Russia's billionaires so that they would get involved in the war.

He comments on the war almost every day on his Telegram channel.

However, he is rarely seen in front of the camera, which is why the Russian state media rated his appearance on RT as a sensation.

Also because of his active media work, some say that Prigozhin has ambitions to replace Putin in the presidential elections in Russia in just over a year.

The Russian political scientist Abbas Galliamov apparently considers this unrealistic.

The fear of an all-powerful Prigozhin welds the elites of Russia together, said the political expert at the German Press Agency.

Galliamov is convinced that Russia's circle of power will be able to prevent a President Prigozhin.

The Wagner boss himself recently rejected ambitions for the presidency.

The 61-year-old explained on his Telegram channel that he had no interest in political power and would turn down office if it were offered to him.