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ISW: Wagner chief faces pressure, intimidation over political ambition

by The Kyiv Independent news desk May 18, 2023 8:03 AM 1 min read
This audio is created with AI assistance

Some Russian strongmen may be intimidating the Wagner mercenary group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin to curb his influence and political ambition, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest report.

The Russian strongmen — identified as “siloviki” in the report — rely on the intimidation tactics such as public signaling to diminish Prigozhin's political ambitions and prevent his cooperation with Russian officials.

The D.C.-based think tank assessed that the campaign has not been successful based on Wagner chief’s recent communications blaming Russian officials for seeking political gains amid the fighting in Bakhmut.

“Shoigu [Russian Minister of Defense] is reportedly unsuccessfully attempting to convince Putin to eliminate Prigozhin due to Prigozhin’s failure to secure battlefield victories — which likely indicates that Prigozhin’s bloody efforts to capture Bakhmut are in fact an attempt to compete with Shoigu for self-preservation,” the report said.

After the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed advances in Bakhmut, Prigozhin denied their claims and “criticized the MoD for falsely portraying a retreat as capturing new positions,” the report said.

On May 17, Ukrainian military's Eastern Operational Command spokesperson Serhii Cherevatyi claimed Ukraine's Armed Forces have advanced up to 500 meters toward Bakhmut over the past day.

Watch our video on the growth of Russian 'PMCs'
Military official: Ukrainian forces advance 500 more meters toward Bakhmut
Ukraine’s Armed Forces have advanced up to 500 meters toward Bakhmut over the past day, spokesperson for the Ukrainian military’s Eastern Operational Command Serhii Cherevatyi said on May 17.

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