Russian President Vladimir Putin may replace the militia leader of the Wagner Group, which operates on behalf of the Kremlin in Ukraine, as relations with military equipment chief Yevgeny Prigozhin continue to deteriorate, Western officials say.
In recent months, Prigozhin has publicly criticized the Russian Defense Ministry for failing to resupply troops and ammunition for its forces targeting the Battle of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.
While some reports say that Putin may deploy a new private militia to replace Wagner, Western sources suggest that he will likely try to remove Prigozhin and orchestrate a power grab by more pro-Kremlin leaders.
“There’s constant tension between them. [Russian] defense and Wagner,” said a Western official. “I don’t see any organization taking over Wagner, but what you could see was a change in the hierarchy at the top of Wagner.
“So the troops and convicts who fought a lot at Bakhmut would still be there, and what you will see is basically a renaming or a change in the hierarchy at the top, which I think is right. [Russian] The defense insists.
The official added: “This is manifested in the dispute between Prigozhin and the top leadership of the Russian Defense Ministry.
“But we don’t see a massive disbandment of Wagner and it will be replaced by another private military company.”
Prigozhin, the billionaire founder of the Wagner Group, has accused unnamed officials of denying adequate supplies to his militants as part of an ongoing rivalry between him and parts of the Russian military elite.
Mr. Prigozhin, who has always avoided the limelight, has taken on a more public role since the war in Ukraine broke out on February 24 last year.
However, after initial successes, his Wagner group became bogged down in a bitter battle for Bakhmut, with Western officials stating that his soldiers “make small gains per yard and lose thousands of soldiers”.
Earlier this week, Mr. Prigozhin again claimed that Wagner had taken the city, but this is disputed by both Ukraine and its Western allies.
“Prigozhin is still trying to claim in Bakhmut that he has taken the city,” a Western official said. “But at the present time, we believe that he still does not have full control of the city and that the Ukrainians are still capable of resisting Russian and Wagnerian forces there.”
Source: I News
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