In the West of the Soviet Union, Yevgeny Prigozhin was imprisoned for theft. Now, as the founder of Russia’s most powerful mercenary group, he is fighting for Vladimir Putin’s favor after scoring a rare victory on the battlefield in Ukraine, Reuters reports.

His aim is to capitalize on the success of his mercenary group, the Wagner Group, which was forced out of the small town of Soledar by Ukrainian forces this week, reviving Russian plans to seize much of eastern Ukraine after multiple defeats.

Russia claimed victory on Friday, but Ukraine said its troops were still fighting in the city.

Prigozhin, 61, who is under Western sanctions and portrays himself as a ruthless patriot, posed in combat gear with his men in a salt mine near Soledar and said only the Wagnerites were fighting, a claim initially denied by defense officials.

On Thursday, the Kremlin announced the “absolutely heroic selfless actions” of the soldiers in Soledar. On Friday, the Ministry of Defense attributed the victory to its Airborne Forces, missile forces and “artillery group of Russian troops”.

Prigozhin said that Russian officials did not give his forces the proper credit.

“They constantly try to steal the victory from Wagner’s PMC and talk about the presence of other unknowns just to belittle Wagner’s merits,” he complained.

The Ministry of Defense responded a few hours later with a new statement “to clarify” the situation, admitting that it was Wagner’s fighters who stormed the city, whose actions it called “courageous and selfless.”

Some commentators say Prigozhin may one day be named defense minister, but it is not entirely clear how much influence the St. Petersburg businessman has gained alongside Putin, who seeks to balance factions with a divide-and-rule strategy.

The new hero of Russia

Prominent Putin supporters, some of whom have access to the Russian leader, compare Prigozhin’s successes to what they say are the less impressive results of the regular army.

Serhii Markov, a former adviser to the Kremlin, called the mercenary leader with a shaved head “a new hero.”

“Pryhogin also has shortcomings. But I will not tell you about them. Because Prigozhin and Wagner are now the national property of Russia. They become a symbol of victory,” Markov wrote in his blog, stating that they should receive more funds from the state.

Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the state-controlled RT channel close to the Kremlin, thanked Prigozhin for Soledar.

Abbas Gallyamov, a former Kremlin speechwriter, suggested on his blog that Prigozhin acted if Putin removed Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, 67, a longtime ally.

In the past, Prigozhin played down the idea that he was aiming for an official ascension to office, but did not categorically rule out such a possibility. His press service, like the Kremlin, did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment.

Putin said that Wagner does not represent the state and does not violate Russian law, and that he has the right to work and promote his business interests anywhere in the world.

Pros and cons of Prigozhin

One military blogger who helped shape Russians’ view of the conflict likened Prigozhin to a Roman centurion empowered to operate outside the law to further Putin’s goals.

“A few more successful Wagner operations and online voting for Prigozhin’s candidacy for the post of Minister of Defense will cease to be a fantasy,” said Zhivov Z.

However, Igor Girkin, a Russian nationalist and former FSB officer who fought in the 2014 Donbas war and is under US sanctions, said Prigozhin did not care about the lives of his people.

He also noted that the capture of Soledar and the neighboring city of Bakhmut would not have military significance.

Prigozhin, dubbed “Putin’s chef” by the Western press because he once ran a floating restaurant in St. Petersburg where Putin dined, has a lot to gain or lose.

He must consider his own future in a time of turmoil, as well as the business interests of Wagner, who Russian officials say has military and mining contracts in Africa and is active in Syria.

He also has a large catering company that caters to government agencies as well as troll farms and the media.

“In essence, this is a private businessman who is very dependent on how his relations with the authorities are built. This is a very vulnerable position,” said Tetyana Stanova, founder of the analytical firm R.Politik.

Attending Wagner’s training courses this month for the governor of Russia’s Kursk region on the border with Ukraine is another way Prigozhin is strengthening ties, she said.

Putin’s “unspecified protection measures” regarding Prigozhin

Russia allowed Prigozhin to recruit tens of thousands of convicts from its prisons for Wagner and let him equip them with tanks, planes and anti-missile defense systems.

He has also stood aloof, sometimes sharply criticizing the highest ranks, although some Western military analysts have suggested that the appointment of a senior general to lead the war in Ukraine was designed to balance his influence.

Prior to the invasion of Russia, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”, Prigozhin denied his connection with Wagner. In September, he said he founded the mercenary group in 2014.

What is the true nature of the relationship between Wagner and the Ministry of Defense of Russia?

Despite his sometimes publicly strained ties to the Russian Defense Ministry, some Western military analysts suspect that Wagner is closely related.

Leonid Nevzlin, the former Israeli head of the Yukos oil company, which he says was misappropriated by the Russian state, which the Russian state denies, said this week that there was a risk that Wagner would break free from Kremlin control.

A source close to Russian authorities, who declined to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media, said the Kremlin considered Prigozhin a useful operative, but kept vague assurances about the leaders of the armed groups.

• Read also: Prigozhin’s political and commercial interests in Soledar