The conflict between the Russian Ministry of Defense and the owner of Wagner, Evgen Prigozhin, reached its climax against the backdrop of the battle for Bakhmut.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoiga and Russian Chief of Staff General Valery Gerasimov are likely taking the opportunity to deliberately deploy both elite forces and Wagner prisoners in Bakhmut. In doing so, they weakened Prigozhin and destroyed his ambitions for greater influence in the Kremlin. This is stated in the new report of the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) for March 13.
Analysts believe that the Russian Defense Ministry is increasingly restricting Prigozhin’s ability to recruit convicts and receive ammunition. ISW does not rule out that the Russian military command is trying to use the forces of a private military company and the influence of Prigogine on Bakhmut.
It is also noted that Moscow, possibly, allows the “Wagnerites” to suffer significant losses in Bakhmut in order to simultaneously blow up Prigogine’s leverage when capturing the city at the expense of mercenaries.
According to experts, they are trying to avenge Putin’s so-called chef for the fact that he once “begged” Putin for permission for the Russian Ministry of Defense to share equipment and ammunition with his militants, and then waged an information campaign against Shoig.
The Institute for the Study of War suggests that Putin may have perceived Prigogine’s aggressive self-promotion as a threat, however, he probably stopped the Russian pinodefense from a direct attack on the owner of the Wagner PvK.
Putin and the Russian Defense Ministry could use Prigogine as a scapegoat for a costly operation on Bakhmut once the offensive reaches a climax, the report says.
Recall that the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that the Wagner group suffered significant losses and, one might say, most of it died in the fields near Bakhmut. The military believes that these processes are leading to the fact that their inglorious history will end in the medium term.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.