Looking for scapegoat out of fear of defeat: Ukraine's Defence Intelligence explains conflict between Wagner Group's financier and Russia's Defence Minister
The conflicts between Yevgeny Prigozhin, financier of the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC), and the Russian military leadership, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and General Staff Chief Valery Gerasimov, are caused by the fear of imminent defeat and the search for a scapegoat.
Source: Press service of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), citing intelligence representative Andrii Yusov
Quote from Yusov: "The public conflicts between the owner of the infamous Wagner PMC Prigozhin and the aggressor state's Defence Minister Shoigu and the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Gerasimov show their fear of responsibility for the inevitable geopolitical defeat of Muscovy [Russia]."
Details: Yusov stated that the senior leadership of the occupiers is now under stress and confusion caused by the uncertainty of their future after the ouster of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Russia's ultimate defeat in the war.
"None of these three wants to take responsibility, so they have started looking for the one to blame. Shoigu, Gerasimov and Prigozhin have been determining among themselves who will be guilty," Yusov concluded.
Background: On 9 May, Yevgeny Prigozhin said that the Russian army left part of their positions in Bakhmut and "exposed" part of the front, which had to be covered by the Wagnerites [fighters of Wagner Group – ed.]. He gave an ultimatum to the Russian Defence Ministry and the General Staff: if his mercenaries were not given ammunition, they would leave their positions.
On 12 May, Prigozhin asked Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu to come to Bakhmut. "Given the difficult operational situation, as well as your many years of experience in combat operations, I ask you to come to the territory of Bakhmut, which is under the control of Russian paramilitary units, and assess the situation yourself," the financier of the Wagner PMC said.
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