The financier of the Wagner group Yevgeny Prigozhin is presented as a figure in the Russian “special operation” in Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) notes in the latest assessment.

Evgeny Prigozhin (right) is nicknamed Putin’s cookPhoto: Vedomosti / WillWest News / Profimedia

On September 14, Prigozhin gave a speech on recruitment, in which he declared that Russian prisoners had been participating in the war since July 1, when they helped capture the Vuglehirskaya TPP.

A Russian military blogger (milblogger) noted that Prigozhin uses a “Stalinist” method that allows the Kremlin to avoid ordering general mobilization, which could inflame social tensions in Russian society.

Military bloggers have consistently praised Prigozhin’s successes in Ukraine, and some have even said he should replace Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, whom mil bloggers and Kremlin experts blame for Russia’s defeat around the Kharkiv region.

Russian military blogger and correspondent Maksym Fomin (pseudonym Vladlen Tatarskyi) said that he spoke with Prigozhin about the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border after the withdrawal of Russian troops from the area.

The meeting between Prigozhin and Fomin, if it took place, could indicate that the Kremlin is trying to respond to months-long complaints by media bloggers that the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation did not listen to their criticism, which highlights the ineffectiveness of the Russian high command.

Prigozhin is close to Putin, and his relationship with the burgeoning tabloids could help preserve their support for the Kremlin’s war effort while dumping Shoigu for the defeat in the Kharkiv region.

The Kremlin has changed its information approach, ISW has previously claimed, to meet the demands of “Russian mil bloggers and nationalists”, suggesting that Putin is trying to win back their critical community alienated by Russia’s failures.

Literature:

  • Vladimir Putin’s “chef”, the head of the “Wagner Group”, recruits staff in Russian prisons: “Gives the impression of a maniac / They are interested in criminals and robbers”
  • Wagner’s Russian group, which was kept secret for years, reveals itself to the public: “This is not an elite force, but another type of cannon fodder”

Prigozhin, known as “Putin’s cook”, is under EU sanctions for his role in “serious human rights violations”. He is also on Washington’s sanctions list. Prigozhin’s wife and mother, who own companies related to him, are also on the EU sanctions list.

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