Will Kadyrov troops replace the Wagner group in Bakhmut?
Maybe it's a power struggle.
Secret documents could also indicate this.
Washington, DC/Moscow - There is a power struggle going on in Moscow - not a new thesis.
But one that could now be confirmed by leaked US-owned documents: The renowned
Washington Post
says it has received previously unknown information.
They apparently point to a tough struggle by Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin for influence in the Kremlin.
It's about the leak about the American Jack Texeira.
The newspaper speculated that the alleged intention to withdraw from Bakhmut could be a last push in Prigozhin's fight.
But the exit is open.
The new documents could also provide insight into the Kremlin's reaction to Prigozhin's repeated verbal ricochets - a discrediting campaign was apparently discussed.
The rumored castling of mercenaries in the Ukraine war could also appear in a new light: at the weekend, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov made it abundantly clear that he wanted to take over the Wagner post at Bachmut.
Publicly discredit Prigozhin?
US documents show alleged plans at Shoigu
The insights suggested the Kremlin was "frustrated" by Prigozhin's harsh public attacks, the
Post
writes .
In the spring, Prigozhin repeatedly fired publicly at the Kremlin - he sometimes claimed that a lack of ammunition was the reason for the deaths of numerous mercenaries.
Then he explained again that Putin had had all communication channels cut off.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has even considered publicly discrediting the mercenary boss through a straw man, it is said.
According to the Kremlin department, an "ally" with a status comparable to that of Prigozhin would have been necessary, the newspaper quoted findings from the secret US documents.
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
Russia unaware of its own ammunition supplies?
As is well known, it did not come to that.
"However, they were ultimately undecided as to how the Defense Ministry could wage an information war with Prigozhin unless the Russian government bans Prigozhin from making public statements," the statement said.
The data is said to come from intercepted or intercepted ministry communications.
It is known that the Wagner boss continues to appear publicly - among other things with the demand for permission to criticize the Russian military.
Ironically, Shoigu's ministry was apparently unable to verify whether Prigozhin's complaints about a lack of ammunition were actually true.
The deliveries were not distributed by the ministry, but by a "task force" in Bachmut.
According to the Washington Post,
the US authorities took this
as an admission that "Prigozhin's claims may be legitimate".
It was only in February that the Wagner requirements were at least partially demonstrably fulfilled.
After further fierce accusations from the mercenary side, Prigozhin was probably summoned to report to Putin.
Putin's strategy fatal for Russia's Ukraine campaign?
"Harmful"
Prior to that, Prigozhin had made further demands of the Kremlin: for example, permission to recruit in prisons again, or to allow and facilitate the hiring of mobilized soldiers or Afghan fighters.
But Putin let the Wagner boss run up, writes the
Washington Post
, citing intercepted conversations by the FSB secret service: Prigozhin should clarify these questions with the ministry of arch-rival Sergei Shoigu.
The
New York Times
also recently reported on documents from a Putin-Prigozhin meeting in February.
At the time, however, it was said that Putin wanted to mediate between Prigozhin and Shoigu.
But there was also talk of missing pages in the US records - there is room for interpretation.
In an interview with the Washington Post,
political scientist Rob Lee attested to Putin's
penchant for a divide-and-conquer strategy.
On the battlefields of the Ukraine war, however, this turned out to be toxic, he judged.
"Putin likes to use competition between different factions to stay in power, but it is detrimental to a military operation," he said.
Kadyrov as Prigozhin replacement: Ukraine scoffs - adviser suspects "bluff"
Meanwhile, it seems Kadyrov's Chechen squad will indeed take Prigozhin's post in Bakhmut.
"I have already signed the corresponding memorandum to the supreme commander and informed that Ahmat forces are ready to take control of the city and remove NATO and Ukraine satanists," Kadyrov said, according to the state agency TASS on Saturday (June 6
)
. May) on Telegram.
"We're just waiting for the orders," he added.
Meanwhile, from Ukraine came ridicule for Russia's overall picture in the alleged mercenary castling.
"It seems that the private armies are fighting, Wagner, the Kadyrovites... What is the Russian army doing," wrote Ukrainian government adviser Anton Gerashchenko on Twitter.
In fact, private mercenary armies play a significant role in Russia's attack on Ukraine.
A day earlier, however, Gerashchenko had publicly accused Kadyrov of a "bluff": The Chechen would not "send his people to their deaths like Wagner does," he judged.
Rather, Kadyrov wants “back on the Russian agenda”.
That would certainly fit the speculation about a pure power struggle.
In an interview with Merkur.de, the Russian Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky named Prigozhin and Kadyrov as two possible protagonists in the struggle for a successor.
At the same time, it is not the only possible doubt about the plans: Doubts about the effectiveness of Kadyrov's troops had already been voiced at the beginning of the war.
With a view to a possible Russian attack on Georgia, a military expert recently dismissed the Chechens as “guys with Kalashnikovs in Ladas”.
(fn)
List of rubrics: © Mikhail Klimentyev/dpa
