According to Vladimir Putin, Russia is fighting NATO in Ukraine.
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigoschin apparently does not share this position.
Once again, he positions himself differently from Putin.
Moscow - Yevgeny Prigozhin is the head of the Wagner mercenary group.
She fights for Russia in the Ukraine war.
Prigozhin is a powerful man in Moscow who, time and time again, positions himself differently from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
This is also the case here: Putin and other Russian politicians, such as Dmitry Medvedev and Sergey Lavrov, have repeatedly claimed that Russia is fighting neo-Nazis in Ukraine.
The Kremlin's goal was to denazify Ukraine and install a new government in Kiev.
But Prigozhin probably doesn't want to know anything about that anymore.
According to the American think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Prigozhin explicitly said that Russia was not fighting Nazis.
Prigozhin disagrees with Putin: Russia is fighting Ukraine, not NATO
However, it doesn't stop there.
In addition, Putin and his associates keep spreading the tale that Russia is not fighting Ukraine, but NATO.
Prigozhin does not agree with this statement either.
Russia only fights against Ukrainians, who are equipped with NATO weapons - but not against NATO.
The Wagner boss added that the Russian leadership would have been clear that NATO countries would support Ukraine: "It would be ridiculous to think that Russia would not have priced in NATO aid at the start of its special operation".
Wagner boss Prigozchin: "Not sure" if there were Nazis in Ukraine
Prigozhin's doubts about Putin's explanation of the reasons for the war lead him to the conclusion that Russia's denazification goals cannot be implemented, because he is "not sure" whether there are any Nazis in Ukraine at all.
At the same time, he lays out the extreme war goals he believes Russia should have: Russia must be demilitarized.
That will only happen when all Ukrainian troops have been wiped out.
Ironically, in his statement opposing the Russian president, Prigozhin called for unity in the Kremlin.
There should still be disputes in the media and among the political elite about the war aims.
Furthermore, one should not underestimate the Ukraine either.
(LP)