Prigozhin regains favour with Kremlin

The fact that Yevgeny Prigozhin has authority over units subordinate to the Russian Defence Ministry suggests that the founder of the Wagner PMC has managed to regain some favour with the Kremlin, analysts at the Institute for War Studies believe.

Source: ISW report

Details: Yevgeny Prigozhin "has launched an information operation to undermine the credibility of Russian state-affiliated private military groups (PMCs)," the institute's experts believe.

In particular, according to the report, Prigozhin said he had visited the positions of the Potok (Stream) and Alexander Nevsky units. Prigozhin characterised them as "micro-PMCs". The founder of Wagner sharply criticised the poor condition of these units on 24 April.

The institute noted that, according to reports, the Potok battalion is one of three volunteer units of the state-owned company Gazprom. The battalion is also a counterpart of the Russian State Combat Reserve (BARS). The Potok battalion is subordinate to the Russian Defence Ministry’s Redut PMC.

"Prigozhin claimed that these units are supposed to cover Wagner‘s flanks and asked how these units can conduct combat operations if they lack the proper supplies and weapons. Prigozhin also criticised the general proliferation of such PMCs, which likely suggests that Prigozhin views these new entities as Wagner’s competition," the report reads.

Prigozhin's statements, ISW concludes, indicate that Wagner has authority over units belonging to the Russian Defence Ministry, which in turn suggests that Prigozhin has regained some favour with the Kremlin.

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