- The owner of PMC Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, severely criticized the Russian military leadership, accusing the “military bureaucracy” of the lack of success at the front. A recording of Prigozhin’s speech appeared on the telegram channel of his press service shortly after the businessman’s structures were suspended from recruiting prisoners in colonies.
- Details. “Already before the New Year, Bakhmut would have been taken if it weren’t for the monstrous military bureaucracy and the spokes in the wheels that are put in daily,” Prigogine said.
- ▪️“From country clubs, from 500-meter rooms, during rejuvenating or other cosmetic massage, it is impossible to control soldiers in a war,” Prigozhin continued. He stated that the conduct of hostilities by units controlled by the Ministry of Defense is influenced by “sycophancy and excessive servility.”
- ▪️Prigozhin also noted that the units of the Ministry of Defense fighting in other sectors of the front “do not show activity.”
- ▪️According to the businessman’s forecast, Bakhmut’s encirclement will take place in March-April. Although “it’s hard to guess, it all depends on how actively they will receive new weapons,” he said.
- ▪️The owner of PMC Wagner believes that the structure he created is devoid of the shortcomings of the Russian army. According to him, in PMCs within the team there is “equality and organization”, and the leadership is next to the rank and file.
- ▪️Prigozhin also assessed the consequences of stopping the recruitment of prisoners into PMC structures. Recently, the recruitment of prisoners for the war, as reported by human rights activists, is mainly handled by the Ministry of Defense. “Certainly it will have a negative impact. We will not dry out 100% now, we will continue to work, there is nothing wrong with that, but if something is being done well, we must continue to do it.”
- The founder of the PMC added that prisoners recruited from prisons are “reluctant to go to other structures.”
- Context. This is not the first time that Prigozhin has criticized the military leadership, but he has done so in the past either in disguise or criticized specific people. So, after the loss of Liman, the owner of the Wagner PMC, together with the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, opposed the commander of the Central Military District, General Alexander Lapin. And in January, the Ministry of Defense announced the capture of Soledar, without mentioning Prigozhin’s group in the initial report, after which he stated that PMCs “are constantly trying to steal victory and talk about the presence of someone who is not clear, just to belittle their merits.”
- In early February, Prigozhin announced that his group had been suspended from recruiting in the colonies. This was also confirmed by human rights activists, the head of the Rus’ Sedentary Foundation, Olga Romanova, said that the Ministry of Defense is now engaged in recruiting. British intelligence cited the confrontation between the Wagner PMC and the Ministry of Defense as the reason for Prigozhin’s removal from the recruitment of prisoners.
- In addition, recently Russian television has begun to fight against the growing influence of Prigozhin, reducing his mentions. Political scientist Sergei Markov, who regularly participates in talk shows on federal channels, also spoke about this.
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