LONDON –
Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, boasted on Saturday amid a smoldering rivalry with the Defense Ministry over who was credited with leading the Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Soledar with the prowess of his armed forces.
After months of tensions between Prigozhin and the military establishment, the split was laid bare on Friday when the Defense Ministry called for the capture of Soledar – which Ukraine has denied – and initially unmentioned Wagner’s role in months of brutal fighting over the salt-mining town in eastern Ukraine .
In a video message, Prigozhin described Wagner as a fully independent force with its own aircraft, tanks, missiles and artillery.
“They are probably the most experienced army in the world today,” he said.
The short video contained no open new criticism of the regular army, whose failings Prigozhin has criticized in the past. But it did nothing to allay the resentment he previously expressed that the private military group was not given proper credit for its role in the Ukraine war.
Prigozhin appeared in camouflage suits alongside a man he identified as the commander of the conquest of Soledar during a trip to award medals to his fighters.
Criticism fueled by failures
Prigozhin’s criticism of the military was fueled by a long list of Russian failures in Ukraine, including major retreats in the northeast last September and the abandonment of the southern city of Kherson in November.
In recent months he has bolstered the role of Wagner, the private group he founded in 2014, expanding its ranks by recruiting thousands of convicts from Russian prisons.
But his rising profile has led to friction with the regular army this week and open competition over who should get credit for capturing Soledar – a victory which, if confirmed, would be the first achieved by Russia since last summer has.
Ukraine said on Saturday its forces were fighting to retain control of Soledar, contradicting Russian claims that it had captured the town.
“Soledar remains under the control of our military,” Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said in a video posted to the Telegram app, adding that there had been street fighting and fighting outside the city and the Russian forces suffered enormous losses.
Portal could not verify the Battlefield accounts.
shake up
Prigozhin on Friday complained about what he called constant attempts to “steal victory” from Wagner and downplay his achievements.
After omitting any reference to Wagner in its initial statement about the city’s capture, the Department of Defense released an unusual episode on Friday citing the “courageous and selfless actions” of the Wagner stormtroopers.
The row was a hot topic among Russia’s influential war bloggers, one of whom, Alexander Kots, described it as ugly and regrettable.
Nearly 11 months into the war, President Vladimir Putin must balance the influence of Prigozhin and the defense establishment while trying to bolster his exhausted military forces and wrest the initiative from Ukraine.
The conflict has exposed poor Russian tactics and confusion in the chain of command, an impression confirmed by another shock this week, with Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov taking command of the war, replacing a general appointed just three months earlier.
In view of this, Prigozhin’s boast about Wagner seemed pointed.
“Commanders consult with fighters and management consults with commanders,” he said. “It’s the strictest discipline that gives us these opportunities. That’s why Wagner advanced and will continue to advance.”