MOSCOW-(MaraviPost)-The Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has been very publicly criticising the Russian military leadership for months – in particular, the defence minister Sergei Shoigu. That has got more and more vocal.
It came to the point yesterday morning when he accused Shoigu of being responsible for the start of the war in Ukraine.
This goes completely against the arguments President Putin has made.
Putin claimed he began the so-called ”special military operation” to “de-Nazify” and demilitarise Ukraine. He claims this is in order to protect the security of Russia.
According to BBC, Prigozhin has very publicly said this is not true – that this war was started because the defence minister wanted to be promoted from general to marshal.
The Wagner leader has now completely undermined the Kremlin argument. That is dangerous for the Kremlin, especially since Russia’s war in Ukraine has not gone at all according to plan.
After 16 months, there’s no sign of victory for Putin.
What is the Wagner Group?
There has been a lot about the band of mercenaries known as the Wagner Group, whose leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has called for a rebellion against the Russian army.
What do we know about them?
The Wagner Group (officially called PMC Wagner) describes itself as a “private military company”.
It was first identified in 2014, when it was backing pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.
Since then, it has grown considerably.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence says Wagner started recruiting in large numbers in 2022 because Russia had trouble finding people for its regular army.
About 80% of Wagner’s troops in Ukraine have been drawn from prisons, the US National Security Council said at the start of this year.
In Ukraine, Wagner troops played a major part in the long and costly fight to take the city of Bakhmut from Ukrainian forces.
Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin?
Yevgeny Prigozhin is at the centre of today’s news. Following months of discontent, he has called for a rebellion against the army – although he has denied attempting a coup.
But who is he, and why is he so important?
He has emerged as a key player in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in charge of a private army of mercenaries – called the Wagner Group – leading the Russian onslaught in key areas of the war.
He is from St Petersburg, Vladimir Putin’s home city.
Following some time in prison for theft, Prigozhin set up a chain of stalls selling hot dogs in St Petersburg. Business went well and within a few years, in the lawless 1990s, Prigozhin was able to open expensive restaurants in the city.
Later, Prigozhin’s catering company Concord was contracted to supply food to the Kremlin, earning him the nickname “Putin’s chef”.
After years of denying that Wagner even existed, on July 27, 2022 Kremlin-controlled media suddenly admitted that it was fighting in eastern Ukraine.
Prigozhin also started posting videos on social media – apparently filmed in occupied parts of Ukraine – in which he boasted of Wagner’s exploits there.
Source: BBC
