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The Wagner Group and its Importance to Putin

2023-01-20T17:43:22.692Z


The Wagner group of mercenaries confidently emphasizes their successes in the Ukraine. Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin even dares to harshly criticize Russia's military leadership. How big is his influence really?


Who is allowed to criticize Russia's military leadership?

Calling Chief of Staff Valeriy Gerasimov "a faggot" with impunity?

For example, Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the private mercenary group Wagner Group.

Because it was allegedly two Wagner fighters who used that defamatory term for Gerasimov in a Telegram channel.

Prigozhin later denied this, but took several hours to do so.

An eternity in social media time.

During the battles for the Ukrainian town of Bakhmut, the Wagner group reported taking the small town of Soledar with their own forces, without significant support from the regular Russian army.

At first the Russian general staff denied it, then officially recognized the merits of the mercenaries.

The Wagner Group now has that much power.

Her boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is often referred to as "Putin's chef" because he made money hosting state banquets and runs the only restaurant in the Kremlin.

Too cute an expression for a man whose mercenaries tortured and killed a deserter from their own ranks with a sledgehammer.

In front of the camera.

Prigozhin initially called the video »a

excellent directorial work that I saw in one breath«.

It must be entitled "A dog deserves a dog's death."

The next day he announced that the Wagner group had nothing to do with the murder.

more on the subject

  • Ex-commander of the Wagner group deserted: "Bullets hissed past me" A video by Janita Hämäläinen

  • Before and after photos of the Donbass front: satellite images show the ruins of Soledar and BakhmutBy Alexander Epp and Oliver Imhof

  • Fighting for Bachmut: The brutal tactics of the Wagner troops in the DonbassBy Oliver Imhof

"Behind the scenes there is a lot of competition between the Ministry of Defence, the army and other groups who all want to be successful," explains Moscow correspondent Christina Haken.

»But Prigozhin, due to his very media presence and the way he proceeds, due to the very rough and ruthless approach, can apparently do quite a lot, if not almost everything.

To have a captured mercenary killed on camera and there isn't really a reaction - that's quite a special event.«

And the military coordination between the Wagner mercenaries and the Russian army also has special features, as SPIEGEL expert Oliver Imhof explains: "There seems to be a bit of friction there.

So there is talk that the Wagner troupe is treated relatively privileged in most cases.

And Wagner tried to make a name for himself in the Battle of Bachmut.«

Nevertheless, Prigozhin's influence seems to have its limits.

In the meantime, Valeriy Gerasimov has been appointed commander-in-chief for the so-called special operation in Ukraine.

After the abuse on Telegram.

So how far does the influence of Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner group really reach?

How do mercenaries go to war?

And how helpful is the fear that Prigozhin creates with his actions for Vladimir Putin?

Oliver Imhof and Christina lever talk about this in this episode of the SPIEGEL foreign podcast eight billion.

Listen to the current episode here:

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2023-01-20

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