It is a remarkable transformation. Almost a year since Russia invaded Ukraine, the head of Russia’s largest group of mercenaries, who has long denied ties to the military, has in some way become the public face of the effort. Moscow’s war force.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the private military firm Wagner, has set an example for those outside the Kremlin who are challenging Russia’s traditional elites, analysts say, highlighting Moscow’s failures in Ukraine. has been changing the country’s power structure.
In recent months, Prigozhin has tried to establish himself as the Kremlin’s indispensable military leader, even as he ramps up his criticism of the Russian Defense Ministry. He bolstered Russia’s dwindling combat ranks with tens of thousands of prisoners recruited into his mercenary force, awarded medals, visited military cemeteries and, according to the videos, his routine, appearing unexpectedly in the most difficult areas of the front line.
This week, Mr. Prigozhin described himself as the mastermind of what he considers Russia’s biggest military success in months: a breakthrough in the eastern Ukrainian town of Soledar.
Standing in full combat gear, Mr. Prigozhin appeared surrounded by his fighters in what he claims are the salt mines beneath Soledar, according to photos published by Russian state news agencies and social media linked to Wagner on Tuesday night. Mr. Prigozhin declares that the city is completely under his control and has full confidence in that apparent success.
“No forces other than PMC Wagner fighters were involved in the attack on Soledar,” Prigozhin said. in an audio message published on the messaging app Telegram, using the Russian acronym for private military companies.
Ukraine denied his claim of a total victory, saying on Wednesday fighting continued west of the town.
Notably, Mr. Prigozhin’s statements were also refuted by the Kremlin and the Russian military. The Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that its regular units were “fighting in the city” and Dmitri S. Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, said that capturing Soledar would be a tactical success. important but costly technique, rather than a turning point. point.
It was just the latest sign of tension between Wagner and the Russian armed forces, which analysts say is struggling to win the favor of President Vladimir V. Putin as the military outlook looms. in Ukraine turned dark.
At the end of December, the Wagner fighter released a video full of profanity sent to the army’s high command, in which they accused the agency of withholding ammunition and causing the deaths of their comrades. Mr. Prigozhin responded to the video by saying, “When you’re sitting in a warm office, frontline issues are hard to hear,” apparently referring to the generals.
And last week, a prominent Telegram news channel affiliated with Mr. Prigozhin, called Gray Zone, discredit the statement of the Ministry of Defense that it killed 600 Ukrainian servicemen in an air strike, by releasing photos of an intact building believed to have been destroyed.
Abbas Gallyamov, the former presidential speechwriter who severed ties, said Mr Prigozhin’s efforts to credit the victory in Soledar showed his growing political ambitions and underscored how those People outside the Kremlin are challenging Mr. Putin’s traditional circle after the failures in Ukraine. he.
Mr. Gallyamov said Mr. Prigozhin was seeking to replace Russian Defense Minister Sergei K. Shoigu, a longtime Putin confidant, whom many Russian extremist nationalists blame for the disasters. military in Ukraine.
“Putin is now so dependent on the efficiency of the military that when he chooses a new minister, he won’t think about anything but how to increase that efficiency,” Gallyamov said. wrote in a Facebook post. “I used to think it was crazy to appoint Prigozhin as minister, but lately there’s been so much going on in our country that you can’t rule anything out.”
Oleg Matsnev contribution research.
