Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin escalates the dispute with the Kremlin.
The internal warpath could be very risky.
Bachmut/Moscow – He was once “Putin's chef”, now he is known as “Putin's smudger”: Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin appear to be having a dispute.
In the past, Prigozhin's paramilitary mercenary force has repeatedly achieved military successes for Russia.
But that no longer seems to count, his former partner Putin apparently even puts additional obstacles in his way.
According to US experts, Putin is said to have sent the Wagner soldiers to Bakhmut to die.
Prigozhin, who has been complaining about a lack of ammunition for weeks, is apparently losing his important connections to the Kremlin's inner circle of power: Putin no longer answers the phone when he calls, the Wagner boss recently complained.
Prigozhin's rants seem to be increasingly irritating Russia's government, especially Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
According to
AP News,
the department has dismissed Wagner's complaints about a lack of ammunition.
And the Wagner boss loses more confidants.
So Shoigu fired his deputy Dmitri Bulgakov, who was considered an important supporter.
Putin's circle of power in the Kremlin - the confidants of the Russian President
Putin's circle of power in the Kremlin - the confidants of the Russian President
Wagner boss Prigoschin: There is no success at Bachmut - despite major losses
It is possible that Prigoshin made a gross miscalculation when attempting to take it in Bachmut - the successes of the Wagner group have recently been limited.
Since August 2022, Russia has been fighting for the Ukrainian city and has suffered heavy losses.
Although the east of the city seems to have been taken, it is not yet clear when Russia will actually take over the place.
Despite the lack of success, Prigozhin boasted that he wanted to transform his Wagner group into an "uncompromising ideological elite parallel military organization."
However, it remains to be seen whether that will happen.
In Bachmut, Wagner and Russia are pursuing a strategy that has met with expert criticism.
"The Russian troops are sent to a meat grinder - without any consideration.
From a military point of view, this is extremely stupid.
But the battle for Bachmut is not primarily about achieving military goals, but about a power struggle in the Russian leadership," military expert Marcus Keupp told the news portal t-online
about
the course of the Ukraine war.
+
Yevgeny Prigozhin leads the Wagner group, which is also used in the Ukraine war.
(archive photo)
© ITAR-TASS/Imago
Prigozhin could end up in the Kremlin meat grinder himself
In the absence of military successes, Prigozhin's confrontational course could harbor great risks.
Archenemy Shoigu is in contact with Russia's president and is not cut off from communication.
According to Spectator Australia
, the Wagner boss must therefore
fight for his political, if not his actual survival - Prigozhin apparently underestimated Shoigu, the portal judged.
In view of recruitment problems, human material is no longer Wagner's great trump card, the
Spectator
judged at the same time.
The verdict from Australia: "Prigozhin may have to find a new way to be useful to the Kremlin - and quickly." So it could be a matter of time before Vladimir Putin has seen and heard enough.
Until Russia's president pulls the ripcord, drops Prigozhin and throws him into the Kremlin meat grinder himself.
(mse)
List of rubrics: © ITAR-TASS/Imago
