Russian Defence Minister should have been tried, and Putin is being deceived – New criticism of Wagner Group's head

Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of the Russian Wagner Private Military Company (PMC), criticised Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and the General Staff for the failure of hostilities, stating that Ukraine did not plan to attack Donbas in 2022, and said that the Russian officials wanted the war, and the oligarchs wanted to make money.   

Source: Prigozhin's video

Quote: "After 2014, the entire Donbas was scattered and looted by various people. Some of them were from the presidential administration, some from the FSB, some oligarchs, such as Kurchenko [Serhii – ed.], were involved. These are people who stole money from the residents of Donbas, who were in the unrecognised republics of LPR [so-called Luhansk People’s Republic – ed.] and DNR [so-called Donetsk People’s Republic – ed.]."

Details: Prigozhin said that Russian generals at that time were "squandering" money on the maintenance of the so-called military corps in these "republics". Prigozhin also said that as of February 2022, Ukraine was not preparing an offensive on Donbas.

Quote: "As of 24 February, there was nothing extraordinary [on the contact line in Donbas – ed.].  Now the Russian Defence Ministry is trying to deceive society, is trying to deceive the president and create a story that there was insane aggression on the part of Ukraine and they tried to attack us together with the entire NATO bloc."

Details: Prigozhin once again criticised the combat capability of the Russian army, which is not capable of conducting large-scale combat operations, and the generals "decorate themselves with medals like a Christmas tree." He personally accused Shoigu of "killing thousands of Russian soldiers" in the first days of the war.

Quote: "He killed the most combat-ready part of the army," Prigozhin said. 

The war, according to him, was needed so that "a bunch of critters would promote themselves and show off what a strong army we have, so that Shoigu would get [the title of] marshal and a second hero star". The war was also beneficial to "the oligarchic clan that actually rules Russia today".

Quote: "In the middle of March, we [Wagner Group – ed.] were called to war. Shoigu went into hiding. He was nowhere to be seen. He was a shaking old man. He was thinking about how to get out of this situation. And at that moment, he should have been thrown into the dustbin of history and tried and punished for the fact that he destroyed tens of thousands of lives already at that time."

Details: Prigozhin also criticised the Russian General Staff and its head Valery Gerasimov for the lack of leadership. Later, Prigozhin said that he wrote a statement to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation regarding Shoigu and Gerasimov.     

Quote: "They still hope that they can win this war. But since there is no management, there are no military successes, the leadership of the Ministry of Defence carefully deceives the president and the president receives reports that do not correspond to reality. Two reports are being formed: one on the ground, the other on the president's desk. And that is why we have been hearing for days about 60 destroyed Leopards, about 3,000 killed enemy soldiers... Shoigu lives by the principle – in order for a lie to be believed, it must be horrifying...

On the ground, the Russian army is now retreating on the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson fronts. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are pushing out the Russian army. We are washed in blood. No one provides reserves. There is no management."         

Background:

• On 20 June, the UK Defence Intelligence reported that Prigozhin is trying to undermine the authority of the Russian Ministry of Defence, while the ministry considers his actions inappropriate against the background of Ukrainian counteroffensive operations.

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