Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a press conference on Tuesday (6 June 2023). © IMAGO/PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE \ apaimages
Ukrainian President Zelensky believes that Putin's regime has lost strength and sees signs of a power struggle in Moscow.
Berlin - The head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has not missed any opportunity to criticize the Russian military leadership in the Ukraine war. From the point of view of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, signs of a "major internal scandal" are intensifying.
Ukrainian President Zelensky talks about power struggle in Moscow: "Great internal scandal"
For months, the head of the private mercenary army Wagner has been publicly criticizing the Ministry of Defense in Moscow and the Russian General Staff. The Ukrainian president is apparently closely watching the power struggle between Prigozhin and the military leadership installed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. "I believe that they have a big internal scandal," Zelenskyy said in an interview with Bild published on Thursday.
"There is a war, which they call a special military operation, and a political struggle. And a very serious one at that. Between different armies, both state and private," said the President of Ukraine. In the military, the unity of leadership is considered one of the fundamental principles. The armed forces should therefore be subordinate to a single commander. In Russia, on the other hand, the private mercenary army Wagner apparently acts largely independently.
Zelensky considers Russia's regime weak: "Putin has lost strength"
In the Bild interview, Zelensky assumes that the Kremlin chief is aware of his dilemma. "I think Putin understands [...] that he has a problem," the Ukrainian president said. The Russian regime is weak. "Putin has lost the strength he once had." The Kremlin's business partners have lost faith in the Kremlin chief, which influences the military as well as many other aspects.
For a while, Putin's strategy was to use rival groups in various areas of the Ukraine war to secure his power, according to a Washington Post report in May. This has ensured that none of the competing players becomes too powerful. While this strategy can protect Putin, it has proven disastrous on the battlefield, according to the analysis.
In the past, there had been repeated reports of an alleged loss of power by Putin in the Kremlin. Back in October last year, a disagreement in the inner circle of the Russian elite made it into US President Joe Biden's daily intelligence briefing. Putin was on his way to disappointing the nationalists and power elites in Russia, according to a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) at the time.
