Unprecedented chaos in Moscow: Prigozhin crossed the red line, Putin unleashes his “dogs” on him!

In recent weeks, Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the private mercenary Russian army Wagner, has more often and more fiercely than ever before started to publicly denounce the Russian military leadership. In a video on 5 May, addressing Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, Prigozhin uttered a series of profanities in which he accused them of allowing Russian fighters to die so that they could ” get fat in their mahogany offices”. Four days later, on Tuesday, he released a much longer video, this time accusing a Russian army unit of abandoning its positions in Bahmut, before referring to the ‘lucky grandfather’ who is failing to save his country, referring – it is speculated – to Russia President Vladimir Putin.

The Russian independent media Meduza has learnt from sources close to the Putin administration that Kremlin officials are running out of patience when it comes to Prigozhin’s unbalanced behaviour, which could be the result of his inability to fulfil a “personal promise” he made to the Russian President. In any case, his recent criticism of the Russian defence ministry and statements about the situation on the battlefield have started to “seriously worry the country’s senior leadership”, Meduza has learnt from two sources close to the Kremlin.

Prigozhin’s public attacks on military circles have been a frequent occurrence since the beginning of May, although they started much earlier. On 5 May, the catering tycoon, who has lucrative catering contracts with the Kremlin and is known as “Putin’s chef”, asked the Ministry of Defence to send the ammunition needed by Wagner’s group to continue the fighting in Bakhmut and threatened to withdraw otherwise. On 6 May, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov asked Putin to send his Akhmat battalion to replace Wagner’s forces in Bakhmut, a proposal that met with Prigozhin’s strong approval.

“Not part of the team”

The next day, the leader of the Wagner group reported that the Russian Ministry of Defence had agreed to provide him with ammunition and that the mercenary group would remain in Bahmut. However, a day later he released a 27-minute video in which he stated that his forces had received only 10% of the equipment he had requested and continued to threaten the Russian military leadership. He also stated that a unit of the Russian armed forces in Bahmut had “abandoned” its positions there.

However, the most discussed part of Prigogine’s speech was the part in which he referred to the ‘lucky grandfather’ in a derogatory way.

“There are people who fight, and there are also people who have learned at some point in their lives that they must have reserves – and accumulate, accumulate, accumulate those reserves. And instead of spending a grenade, killing the enemy, saving the life of our soldier, they are killing our soldiers. And the happy grandfather thinks he is doing well. And what should the country do next? If it turns out to be right, God repay everyone. But what should the state do, what should our children do, what are our grandchildren doing, the future of Russia, and how are we going to win this war if suddenly – and I’m just speculating here – this grandfather turns out to be a complete moron?” said Prigozhin.

Sources close to the Putin administration told Medusa that Kremlin officials consider Prigozhin’s statements about the Russian defence ministry as a “serious threat”. One source said that Prigozhin is currently “not acting as part of the same team and not for the same interests” as the Russian authorities. “He has his own project, Bakhmut, and is currently doing everything for it. But it is a personal project aimed at gaining more influence in the defence ministry, so that Wagner presents himself as the main force behind the victory,” the source said.

A broken promise?

Prigozhin’s statement about the “lucky grandfather” was received even more negatively in the Kremlin, according to the source. “Later, of course, he may say he was talking about Shoigu or some unspecified ignoramus, but we know what conclusions people will come to,” he said. One source believes that Prigozhin was indeed talking about Putin, while another said the statement cannot be considered a “direct attack” on the President.

Meduza sources say that Prigozhin’s behaviour could be linked to a “personal promise” he made to Vladimir Putin that Wagner’s group would take Bakhmut by a certain date. The sources do not know exactly what date this would be, but speculate that Prigozhin may have “missed the deadline” and that this is making him nervous. The Ukrainian army had previously reported that Russian forces hoped to take control of Bakhmut by 9 May – which they did not manage to do.

“This personal promise has led him to throw sticks and stones at the regular forces and to make provocative statements. This is unusual behaviour,” the source said. Several sources told Meduza that Prigozhin had crossed a “red line” with his statements.

According to the sources, the actions of the Wagner Group leader could lead to serious problems, despite his close ties to Russia’s top leadership. Among his “protectors” are said to be Viktor Zolotov, head of the Russian National Guard, and Alexei Dyumin, Governor of Tula and Putin’s former bodyguard. Among Prigozhin’s supporters was former billionaire and long-time Putin ally Yuri Kovalchuk, who, according to Medusa’s sources, has begun to distance himself from Prigozhin.

A source from one of Russia’s state media agencies says that the country’s propaganda agencies have already received a “warning” from the Putin administration that if Prigozhin continues to criticise the defence ministry and report on “failures at the front”, as they say, the journalist should start portraying him as a traitor to Russia.

“If it goes on like this …”

The Washington Post previously reported that the Russian Ministry of Defence had started preparing materials for a negative public campaign against Prigozhin, but had still not managed to organise it. Now, according to a Meduza source, the presidential administration is preparing a similar campaign should Prigozhin continue this behaviour.

At the same time, sources close to the Kremlin say they do not think the authorities will stop at a smear campaign. “As long as Wagner is (on the battlefield), there is little that can threaten Prigozhin – he has the opportunity to enter into direct dialogue with the president. But if this continues, the official security forces will surely put an end to it.”

The Wagner leader himself refused to answer Medusa’s questions, including the one “grandfather” was referring to. “I have said many times that I do not comment for hostile media. As soon as I receive these questions from an impartial Russian media, I will be happy to answer them,” Prigozhin said.

In a statement to the RTVI television network, Prigozhin said that when he used the word “grandfather”, he was not referring to Putin, but to one of three people – former Deputy Defence Minister for Logistics, Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, Russian army General Staff Valery Gerasimov and pro-government activist Natalia Khim, who has been fighting with the armed forces of the self-proclaimed “People’s Republic of Donetsk” for several years. Prigogine did not explain why he would use the word “grandfather” to refer to Natalia Khim, a 34-year-old woman./Jutarnji list/