Though the two have feuded before, Prigozhin’s insults are shockingly blunt. Mikhail Svetlov/Contributor via Getty Images
- Prigozhin, head of the Wagner group, criticized Putin after he failed to receive a reward for capturing Bakhmut.
- Prigozhin had a dispute with both Putin and the Russian Defense Ministry over Bakhmut, ISW said.
- Russian state media have effectively banned coverage of Wagner, Prigozhin said.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner group, could criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin and the defense ministry for not receiving a reward for capturing Bakhmut, a new analysis says.
According to an update from the Institute for the Study of War, Prigozhin’s repeated attacks on Putin’s character — including profane and thinly veiled insults earlier this month — and criticism of the Defense Ministry could be related to the lack of reward for Wagner’s capture of Bakhmut.
“Prigozhin’s taunts against Putin and the Russian Ministry of Defense – combined with his boasting about Wagner’s achievements – may indicate that Prigozhin is frustrated that he did not receive promised compensation for his victory in the Battle of Bakhmut,” ISW said.
Although it is not clear what reward Prigozhin would have received, the complications surrounding his capture of Bakhmut may indicate that Putin and Russian military leaders are unwilling to reward him, according to the ISW.
One of these complications is the timing of Bakhmut’s actual capture. ISW reported that the Kremlin hoped to sack Bakhmut earlier than Prigozhin actually did, possibly to compare the victory with the celebrations of Victory Day and the capture of Berlin by the Soviet Union in 1945.
Prigozhin said Wagner troops took control of Bakhmut on May 10 and evacuated the city on May 21. He later blamed the delay on the lack of ammunition provided by the Russian Defense Ministry, ISW explained.
According to Portal, Prigozhin said on Sunday that the Kremlin media had effectively banned coverage of him or Wagner, likely because of his ongoing insults towards Putin and Russian leaders.
One of the earliest signs of reluctance to cover Prigozhin came after Wagner achieved the victory at Bakhmut – Portal reported that Russian state television did not cover Bakhmut’s fall for 20 hours and did not broadcast Prigozhin’s victory speech.
When asked about the apparent ban on reporting on him, Portal reported that Prigozhin said: “These high-level bureaucrats, these very towers of the Kremlin, try to keep everyone’s mouth shut so that they don’t just talk about Wagner.” Enter a nudge for the people.
WATCH NOW: Insider Inc.’s Popular Videos
Loading…