The Power Within: The Kyiv Independent’s first-ever magazine. Be among the first to get it.

pre-order now
Skip to content
Edit post

ISW: Russia's military formalization efforts aim at restricting Prigozhin's independence

by Olena Goncharova June 13, 2023 7:35 AM 2 min read
This audio is created with AI assistance

The Institute for the Study of War said in its recent update that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the Russian military command are seeking to regain favor with Russian President Vladimir Putin following successful defensive operations in southern Ukraine and their pursuit of formalizing Russian irregular forces, which was likely part of their original plan in the early months of 2023.

Shoigu announced on June 10 that Russian volunteer personnel must sign contracts directly with the ministry by July 1. Wagner's mercenary boss brushed off the Russian order to sign contracts: “Wagner will not sign any contracts with Shoigu,” Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner Group, said on June 11.

A Wagner-affiliated military blogger claimed that Shoigu’s new decree legalizes the destruction of private military companies and that the Russian Ministry of defense will use this decree "to stop providing Wagner forces with ammunition, medical assistance, and military equipment." Under current and longstanding Russian law, private military forces are illegal. Since its inception roughly ten years ago, Wagner has maintained an uneasy peace with Russian lawmakers, justifying its existence by operating in theatres where it has been beneficial for the Russian regular armed forces to maintain plausible deniability, such as Crimea and Donbas in 2014.

The ISW says that Wagner's operations on the Bakhmut front line in winter and spring 2023 and the Russian ministry's lack of decisive victories in Donbas may have limited the Defense Ministry to pursue its desired formalization of Russian forces sooner.

"The move is likely militarily sound and in part unrelated to the dispute with [Yevgeny] Prigozhin, as a formal accounting and direct control of Russia’s array of irregular formations will likely enable the Russian military command to redeploy forces as needed," the ISW said.

Ukraine war latest: Ukraine liberates 2 more villages; Zelensky says ‘rain makes task harder’
Key developments on June 12: * Ukrainian military confirms liberation of Storozheve, Novodarivka * Russia preparing evacuations, sabotage in Crimea * 10 dead, 42 missing due to Kakhovka Dam disaster * Russian attacks kill 5, injure 21 over June 11-12 Ukraine’s military confirmed another two vi…

News Feed

5:14 PM

Lithuanian FM on Europe's role in ending Russia's war.

The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell sat down with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys during his visit to Kyiv on April 1 to discuss the future of Europe during U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, whether European sanctions remain an effective instrument to stop Russia’s war against Ukraine, and Lithuania's contribution to the "coalition of the willing."
2:30 PM

Russian Railways hit by major cyberattack.

The state-owned Russian railway operator described the incident as a "massive DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attack," saying that efforts to restore operations are underway.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.