The head of the Wagner mercenary force, Yevgeny Prigozhin, challenges Vladimir Putin’s narrative of Russia fighting Nazis in Ukraine. It should have a specific goal.
In doing so, Prigozhin is clearly distancing himself from Putin, who always cited “denazification of Ukraine” as a reason for the war against Ukraine. In addition, Putin always presented the war against Ukraine as a liberation from NATO, which is increasingly coming up against Russia’s borders. Prigozhin told ISW Moscow was fighting “exclusively with Ukrainians”equipped with NATO-supplied equipment, and some “Russophobic” mercenaries who voluntarily supported Ukraine – but not with NATO itself.
Wagner troupe consists of ex-convicts
Prigozhin runs a paramilitary unit and has actually always been a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The unit is riddled with ex-convicts and in recent months has been making increasing appearances on the battlefield in Ukraine. Russian media have expressed the suspicion that the businessman from St. Petersburg may be aspiring to political office himself and is now trying to set an example.
The Wagner troupe is considered particularly brutal. It is equipped with Russian military equipment and also has some air forces. The force is also involved in the battles for Bakhmut. There, the force, which is said to consist of up to 40,000 fighters recruited from prisons, is said to have suffered massive losses.
