War criminal Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of PIK Wagner, was reported by The Washington Post to cooperate with Ukrainian intelligence rather than an attack on war criminal Russian President Vladimir Putin. This opinion was expressed by analysts of the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
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ISW commented on the situation with information about alleged attempts by Prigozhin to get into Ukrainian intelligence and exchange information about the positions of the Russian military for control over Bakhmut.
The Kremlin may have been aware of Prigogine’s potential contacts with the Ukrainian side. Therefore, Putin’s entourage is preparing mechanisms to discredit Prigogine as a traitor.
Unnamed Kremlin sources said the Russian presidential administration was preparing an information operation to publicly discredit Prigozhin, but noted that the Kremlin was unlikely to threaten him while Wagner forces were on the front lines. Prigozhin commands the Wagnerites in the Donbass, and his removal would violate the position of the Russians in Bakhmut, and Putin is unlikely to take such a risk, the ISW noted.
Besides, the Kremlin cannot remove Prigozhin because the Wagner Group is a private company and the only way to change its ownership is to take control of the mercenaries.
To get Prigogine out of his control of the Wagner, ironically, the Kremlin would have to put the mercenary group under direct control, from which the roads struggle to keep a formal distance, the ISW added.
As a reminder, Ukrainian forces have confirmed limited successes on the battlefield during recent localized counterattacks in and around Bakhmut.
Source: Racurs
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