Wagner’s mercenary group in Russia will not sign any contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense, its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Sunday, after Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered all “volunteer units” to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense, Reuters reported.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner’s group, has repeatedly criticized the Russian military for what he sees as treason, accusing them of not fighting properly during the war in Ukraine.

Neither Shoigu nor the chief of the General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov, publicly commented on Prigozhin’s insults and criticism.

But the defense ministry said on Saturday that Shoigu had ordered all “volunteer units” to sign contracts with his ministry by the end of the month, a move the ministry said would increase the effectiveness of Russia’s military.

Although the Ministry of Defense did not mention Wagner’s group in its public statement, Russian media reported that it was actually an attempt by Shoigu to take mercenaries under his control.

“Wagner will not sign any contract with Shoigu,” Prigozhin said in response to a request to comment on Shoigu’s order.

Prigozhin said that Wagner was integrated into the overall system and fully subordinated to Russian interests, but that his highly effective command structure would be damaged by Shoigu’s subordination.

“Shoigu cannot properly manage military formations,” Prigozhin said, adding that Wagner coordinated his actions in Ukraine with General Serhiy Surovikin, who was nicknamed “General Armageddon” by the Russian media.

Dubbed Putin’s “chef” through his Kremlin catering firm Concordie, Yevgeny Prigozhin has become one of the central figures in Russia’s war effort in recent months after the Putin administration for years denied any links to paramilitary organizations.

Military analyst Sean Bell says the success of the Wagner Group has led to friction between the mercenaries and the regular Russian army.

Wagner’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who described his mercenaries as “the best army in the world,” succeeded where the Russian army had failed.

And that’s why Prigozhin’s influence became a threat to Putin, Bell says.

Prigozhin attacked Putin on Victory Day: “Grandfather” was beheaded

“What will the country, our children, our grandchildren, who are the future of Russia, do, and how can we win this war, if by chance, and I’m just speculating here, it turns out that this grandfather is a complete bitch,” Prigozhin said then. probably referring to Putin.

“This is not a problem with the soldiers. The problem is with the people who lead them and give them tasks. The fish stinks from the head,” Prigozhin said, naming the orders given by what he called a small clique.

“You can’t defy the tsar and live like that”

Renowned British historian Sergey Radchenko, a professor at Johns Hopkins, also says that Wagner’s leader crossed a red line when he attacked Vladimir Putin.

“This should not be in Putin’s system. Putin’s system allows subordinates to attack each other, but never to undermine their superiors. Prigozhin crossed this line. Either Putin will respond and Prigozhin will be “burned”, or – if this does not happen – it will be a signal,” he writes. Radchenko on Twitter.

“A signal that the boss is fatally weakened. And this is a system that does not respect weakness,” the historian emphasizes.

“If Prigozhin’s outbursts (including his calling Putin an ‘asshole’) go unpunished, we will know that Putin is a finished force. You just can’t challenge the king like that and stay alive. Either the king is no longer king, or… I don’t think there is an “or”. I think we will find out soon,” he wrote.