Putin’s subordinates report on their successes
2023.01.13 14:28
Putin’s subordinates report on their successes
By Kristina Sobol
Budrigannews.com – Yevgeny Prigozhin was imprisoned for theft at the end of the Soviet Union. He is competing for Vladimir Putin’s favor by claiming a rare victory on the battlefield in Ukraine as the founder of Russia’s most powerful mercenary group.
His goal is to make use of the success that his mercenary group, Wagner Group, had this week in driving Ukrainian forces out of the salt mining town of Soledar, which rekindles Russian plans to take more of eastern Ukraine after losing elsewhere.
Friday, Russia claimed victory, but Ukraine claimed that its troops were still engaged in battle in the town. Reuters was unable to confirm the situation right away.
Prigozhin, 61, who is accepted in the West and portrays himself as a ruthless patriot, had posed with his men in combat gear in a salt mine beneath Soledar and claimed that they were fighting alone, which defense officials initially denied.
The Kremlin on Thursday talked about the “totally chivalrous benevolent activities” of those battling in Soledar. On Friday, the defense ministry credited its airborne units, missile forces, and “artillery of a grouping of Russian forces” with the victory.
Prigozhin claimed that Russian officials were not properly recognizing his forces.
He voiced his displeasure, saying, “They constantly try to steal victory from the Wagner PMC (private military company) and talk about the presence of other unknown people just to belittle Wagner’s merits.”
A new statement “to clarify” the situation issued hours later by the defense ministry acknowledged that Wagner fighters, whose actions it praised as “courageous and selfless,” had stormed the town.
Some commentators have said that Prigozhin might one day be made defense minister. However, it is not entirely clear how much influence the businessman from St. Petersburg has had on Putin, who has a tendency to balance factions using a divide and rule strategy.
Prigozhin’s progress has been compared to what they say has been a less impressive performance by the regular military by prominent Putin supporters, some of whom have access to the Russian leader.
The headless mercenary chief has been praised as “a new hero” by Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser.
“Prigozhin, too, has flaws. However, I will not reveal them to you. because Wagner and Prigozhin are currently Russia’s national treasures. “They are becoming a symbol of victory,” Markov wrote on his blog, arguing that the state ought to provide them with additional resources.
Margarita Simonyan, close to the Kremlin and editor-in-chief of the state-controlled RT channel, thanked Prigozhin for Soledar.
On his blog, former Kremlin speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov suggested that Prigozhin was maneuvering in case Putin removed his longtime ally, 67-year-old Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
In the past, Prigozhin has not ruled out the possibility of seeking official elevation, but he has played down the idea. Both the Kremlin and his press office did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment.
Wagner, according to Putin, has the right to work and promote its business interests anywhere in the world and does not represent the state or violate Russian law.
Prigozhin was compared to a Roman centurion authorized to operate above and beyond the law in order to achieve Putin’s objectives by one of the military bloggers who contribute to shaping Russian perceptions of the conflict.
Zhivov Z stated, “A couple more successful Wagner operations and online votes proposing Prigozhin for Minister of Defence will cease to be fantasy.” On the other hand, Igor Girkin, a Russian nationalist and former officer in the Federal Security Service who assisted in the initial Donbas war in 2014 and is currently subject to sanctions from the United States, has stated that Prigozhin is reckless with the lives of his soldiers. He has also stated that it would not have any military significance to capture Soledar or Bakhmut nearby.
Because he once ran a floating restaurant in St. Petersburg where Putin ate, Western media have given Prigozhin the moniker “Putin’s Chef.”
In these turbulent times, he must also think about Wagner’s business interests, which include military and mining contracts in Africa and activities in Syria, as well as his own future. He also runs a huge catering business that caters to state agencies, troll farms, and media outlets.
“He is essentially a private businessman who is highly dependent on the structure of his relationships with the authorities. The R.Politik analysis firm’s founder Tatiana Stanovaya stated, “This is a very vulnerable position.”
She said that the governor of Russia’s Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, attending a Wagner training course this month appeared to be another way for Prigozhin to improve his connections.
For Wagner, which U.S. officials estimate to be a 50,000-strong force, Russia has granted Prigozhin permission to recruit tens of thousands of inmates from its prisons and equip them with tanks, aircraft, and missile defense systems.
Even though some Western military analysts suggested that the appointment of the most senior general to lead the war in Ukraine was intended to balance his influence, it has also stood by while he hurled sometimes profane criticism at the top brass.
Prigozhin had denied any connection to Wagner prior to Russia’s invasion, which Moscow refers to as “a special military operation.” He said in September that he started the mercenary group in 2014.
Some Western military analysts believe Wagner is closely associated with the Russian defense ministry, despite its sometimes public tensions with it.
This week, Leonid Nevzlin, an Israel-based former executive at the oil major Yukos, stated that there was a possibility that Wagner could overthrow Kremlin control. He claims that Yukos was illegally appropriated by the Russian state, which it denies.
The Kremlin viewed Prigozhin as a useful operator but maintained unspecified safeguards over leaders of armed groups, according to a source close to the Russian authorities who declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak with the media.
The source, who declined to provide any additional information, stated, “There is a ceiling (of growth) and mechanisms in place.”
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