Not even Vladimir Putin can still sell the development of the Ukraine war in Russia as a success. Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozchin therefore seems to be increasingly going on the offensive.
Munich – Even if everything didn’t go according to plan in the Ukraine war from the start, Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin was certain: the powerful in Russia were pulling together. Because they all have in common the common goal of defeating Ukraine and its western-oriented government around President Volodymyr Zelenskyj as a declared enemy. And to either annex the country or at least maneuver it onto the Kremlin’s line.
As a result, Putin was able to concentrate fully on the ordered invasion – his official special operation, which had meanwhile gone completely haywire. Those times seem to be over now. Because even in the circle of power of the 70-year-old, there is more and more open rumbling. Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Russian republic of Chechnya and branded a “bloodhound”, and Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder and financier of the feared Wagner mercenary group and known as “Putin’s cook”, are already calling for an even more uncompromising approach to the conflict. Apparently to the point of escalation.
Ukraine war: Men in military uniforms complain about their situation in videos
The Russian troops only failed when they took Kiev and are now being pushed back from the conquered areas in the south and east. In view of the military disaster in Ukraine, the anger of the rebellious Putin subordinates is primarily directed at Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Videos that are circulating on the Internet and show men in military uniforms may also be aimed at them. In the clips, the alleged soldiers lament their suffering.
According to the translation by Anton Gerashenko, adviser to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry, the men complain about being deployed to the front with no real training. In addition, they were handed out obsolete and unregistered weapons, had to take care of their own food and didn’t even have tents to stay overnight. A young man, who introduces himself as Kovrishin Artem Aleksevich, says he spent six days in the trenches and decided with 400 others: “We’re not going anywhere, let them go to hell.”
Soldier videos from Belgorod: “No one needs us. There are no combat exercises”
In another video, the narrator films a large group of uniformed men next to a train and stresses that they are not cared for, have no money and live “like animals”. According to Gerashenko’s translation, he also scolds: “No one needs us. There are no combat exercises.” The bystanders, many hiding their faces behind masks or cloths, also complain loudly.
A third video apparently shows the same scene from a different perspective. This time the narrator can also be seen filming with his mobile phone. He too is wearing military clothing, with a hood on his head and his face uncovered. Among other things, this sequence states that the men must live outdoors, even in the rain. 90 percent of them are sick. Then someone says, “Show your weapons.” Only a few of the men raise their guns. It is not really clear whether the rest are unarmed.
The guns are from the 70s and 80s, the man criticizes with the cell phone and then films a clinical thermometer held out to him while someone calls out: “Everyone suffers from pneumonia.” Then comes the accusation: “Most of us have neither helmets nor bulletproof vests “. At the end it becomes clear that this clip was also filmed by the young man who introduced himself as Aleksevich. He briefly pulls down his balaclava to show his face.
Videos from the Ukraine war: Wagner mercenaries can also be seen among men in military clothing
As nv writes, according to the joint verification team, the videos are circulating from RTL and nv since Wednesday evening. They were probably first published on the Russian imageboard Dvach, and then distributed via Telegram. The given location Belgorod north of Kharkiv on the Russian side of the border is correct.
However, in addition to the fierce allegations, what causes discussions is the apparently better equipment of some of the men. Few wear protective vests, and some people wear the skull and crossbones symbol of the Wagner group. In view of Prigozhin’s more brash behavior in recent weeks, it is reasonable to assume that his mercenaries would incite the other soldiers and set the supposed military revolt in motion.
Military revolt in the Ukraine war? Journalist recognizes a soldier from an earlier video
Mark Krutov, journalist of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, claims to have recognized “eight to ten people hiding their faces and better equipped than the others” in the clips. Another indication that they could be works from the Prigozhin camp: the videos were distributed by Telegram channels that are close to the Wagner group.
He also compares the hooded man with the cell phone to a man from a video from late September. It seems to be the same. In this older clip, according to Krutov’s translation, he says: “We have been officially informed that there will be no exercises until we are sent to the war zone. The commanders confirmed that. On September 29th we will be dispatched to Cherson. Think about what you want. Decide for yourself how to deal with it in the future. There was no target practice, no theoretical training, nothing.”
Krutov continued to research the man, who is said to be called Sergey Surkov. One of the pictures posted by the journalist shows him wearing a cap with the US flag emblazoned on the underside of the visor. His conclusion: Surkov is not really patriotic or anti-Western. When he asked about the criticism expressed in September, he received the answer: “I can’t talk about it now. Things have changed completely, hopefully for the better.” However, after his research, Krutov believes that Surkov is really a soldier.
Putin and his subjects: Should Kremlin chiefs put Prigozhin and Kadyrov in their place?
However, he has doubts about the authenticity of the videos, which would look “a bit like a made-up story”. It could possibly be of use to the hardliners, who appear to be willing to use any means necessary to win the war. the New Zurich newspaper (NZZ) In this context, he writes about Kadyrov and Prigozhin: “Both have paramilitary units that are loyal to them, largely exempt from the state’s monopoly on the use of force, and have their own media presence – a highly explosive combination.”
What is striking, however, is that neither of them blames Putin for the setbacks. They seem reluctant to do so, wanting to put pressure on the ruler in the Kremlin indirectly to get their demands heard. Do they succeed? the NZZ goes on to write that Kadyrov and Prigozhin “will be put in their place sooner or later if they are seen as a threat to the regime.” So as a danger to Putin himself.
Video: Putin is probably struggling with criticism from his own ranks
Putin troops arrest Prigozhin supporters: message to the hardliners around the Wagner boss?
Nevertheless, reference is already being made to the possibility of a mutiny. Does the Kremlin see it that way? At least an important Prigozhin supporter, like Alexei Slobodenyuk, is said to have been arrested on October 5th picture reported. He is accused of fraud. A video circulating on Twitter shows a man being pinned to the ground next to an SUV in an underground car park. Three men in uniform and one in civilian clothes keep him in check.
Slobodenyuk is considered the brains behind several Telegram channels. The arrest is said to have been carried out by the Russian National Guard’s Rapid Response Task Force. This is particularly loyal to Putin. Who possibly had a message sent to Prigozchin.
Wagner Group on Telegram: “Our business is death and our business is doing well”
A message from his Wagner group can at least be interpreted as a reaction to the arrest. Because this was announced on October 6, according to the think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW)that she now has her own Telegram channel. The misleading name according to “Peacekeeper”. The first message goes like this: “We have emerged from Hell. We are Wagner – our business is death and our business is doing well.”
So things are brewing in Russia. Putin still has at least enough control over who can be openly criticized. Shoigu is therefore aloud ISW as a “scapegoat on hold”, but still has its uses for the President in this way. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov are more or less protected against this. Attacks on Putin are still forbidden.
The only question is how much longer. The once untouchable president threatens to become more and more driven – by his own supporters. (mg)
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