More signs of tension within the ranks of Moscow’s military establishment. On Russia Day, a holiday commemorating the country’s independence after the fall of the USSR, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited wounded soldiers in Ukraine and even presented awards to some of them. This was a rare encounter with soldiers involved in the conflict. Images of the visit to Vishnevsky Hospital in Krasnogorsk, on the outskirts of Moscow, were not immediately broadcast by the Kremlin. “Vladimir Putin presented awards to the military personnel and held talks with them,” the statement said. However, in the images released later, we see Putin being accompanied by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu but seemingly avoiding any contact with him. At times she even turns her back on him and avoids meeting his eyes. According to some observers, this is further evidence that relations with the General Staff of the Russian Army and the Tsar are far from peaceful.
Once again the leader of Wagner, Putin’s private militia, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has been in open communication with Minister Shoigu for months, is stoking the fire. Putin’s chef has announced that his men will not sign any contracts with Russia’s defense minister, a practice followed instead by Chechen militiamen from the Ahmat Battalion, loyal to leader Rasman Kadyrov. Prigozhin said Wagner was integrated into the overall system and fully subordinate to Russia’s interests, but his highly efficient command structure would be hampered by reporting to the minister. “Shoigu can’t handle military formations properly,” Prigozhin said. In a June 5 video translated by Ukrainian commentator Igor Sushko, Prigozhin goes further and calls for the shooting of Russia’s chief of staff Gerasimov and Shoigu. And it goes so far as to predict how the execution will take place. For some time, Wagner’s leader has accused both of them not only of being unable to fight the war in Ukraine, but also of treason for failing to provide his men with adequate military support at the Battle of Bakhmut.