President Putin is also being led…Russian military infighting, private military companies on the rise, allies point to military failures, “direct bitching, defense minister or worse.”

Last Updated on 10/28/2022 by てんしょく飯

Cracks are deepening within Russia’s military establishment over the invasion of Ukraine. Prigogine, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin and founder of the private military company Wagner, directly pointed out the military’s failures to Putin. If the balance of power is upset by the regime’s infighting, “it could be handed over to Mr. Putin,” the expert said.

There is a possibility that Putin will be handed over the reins.

According to the Washington Post (electronic edition), Prigogine directly complained to Putin that the Russian Defense Ministry is not giving him the necessary support while relying on Wagner’s mercenary troops. Against the backdrop of his military inferiority, “Mr. Prigozhin’s growing influence and the instability of the Defense Ministry’s senior leadership were highlighted,” the paper noted.

Prigozhin is one of the oligarchs (an upstart conglomerate that runs food-related companies) and first admitted in September that he was the founder of Wagner.

Prigozhin has also sympathized with criticism of the military leadership by the Chechen Republic’s Emir Kadyrov. The position of the Defense Ministry is becoming tougher, as the argument for the dismissal of Defense Minister Shoigu is also smoldering.

Wagner’s influence is also growing on the front lines. To make up for the shortage of Russian troops, the company has been recruiting prisoners to serve as soldiers, and it is said that the company’s mercenaries have been deployed to Bakhmut, a strategic point in the eastern Donetsk Oblast.

In the southern Lugansk Oblast, the company is also building a defensive line called the “Wagner Line” and the “Prigozhin Line,” the independent Russian media outlet Meduza reported on the 23rd of this month.

Russian troops were expected to withdraw from the city of Herson, the capital of the southern province of Herson, but Ukrainian officials are warning of “the most intense fighting,” according to the Reuters news agency.

Itsuro Nakamura, professor emeritus at Tsukuba University, said, “Mr. Prigogine has amassed power to the point where he can directly complain to Mr. Putin, and is effectively becoming the defense minister or even higher. The hardliners’ views will be reflected on the front lines, and the attacks will become even more outrageous.

Mr. Prigogine is considered a close ally of Mr. Putin, but the relationship between the two may change. Mr. Nakamura said, “Mr. Prigogine’s goal is to ‘scorch’ Ukraine. If he fails to meet a series of demands, there is a possibility that he will hand over the reins to Vladimir Putin.