The leaders of two of the most important Russian military groups are said to be dissatisfied with the progress.
Both the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and the leader of the mercenary group of the Wagner group Yevgeny Prigozhin have expressed their disappointment in recent days.
The Wagner group and Chechen soldiers are among the most powerful weapons of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the war in Ukraine.
This heightened and open criticism is a sign of increased tension in Putin’s inner circle, writes the Washington Post.
Biden updated
According to the American newspaper Washington Post Prigozhin recently criticized the president face to face and said he believes the rest of the military leadership in Russia is not doing its job. This is what two American intelligence sources tell the newspaper.
– It is a problem for Putin that so many are dissatisfied. If the war goes wrong, Putin probably also thinks it could become a threat to his own power – and perhaps ultimately a threat to his political and effective survival in the end.
This is what Norwegian Defense Research Institute chief researcher Tor Bukkvoll told Dagbladet.
– The university environment is vulnerable to espionage
Prigozhin’s criticisms must have been powerful enough to be part of US President Joe Biden’s daily intelligence update.
For months, Commander Wagner has criticized the military and leadership for failing to succeed on the battlefield, but the fact that he now comes face-to-face with President Putin could indicate that he is gaining more and more influence over the president and hence the war. writes the newspaper.
– He’ll take the water to the mill
It has been quiet in Kherson for the past few days, which some believe is a sign that the Russians are preparing for battle. Others, however, believe that the Russians will withdraw from the region.
– Those who are already criticizing Putin will likely have their hands full if Kherson falls. It is important that the Russians keep Kherson, if not extremely important militarily. Politically, losing the city will be a huge loss, because it was the only regional capital the Russians managed to conquer after the February 24 invasion, Bukkvoll says.
It does not rule out that some form of palace coup is what awaits the Russian president.
– In about 70 percent of cases where a totalitarian state collapses, the cause is the division of the elites, he points out.
Furthermore, the researcher says there are no particular signs that this will happen for the time being and that many of his colleagues doubt that this will happen.
– But I don’t think we should rule it out.
Reject everything
In the Washington Post, Prigozhin denies he yelled at Putin.
– First: I have not communicated personally with Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, nor do I intend to do so in the near future, he tells the newspaper, and continues:
– I did not criticize the leadership of the armed forces of the Russian Federation during the conflict in Ukraine. Therefore, I cannot comment on the matter.
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, also does not want to comment on the issue.
Ukrainian soldier: – He must beat the Russians
The Wagner group is made up largely of experienced mercenaries and they have been accused of committing war crimes in different places around the world in recent years.
– War
Kadyrov is also very dissatisfied with the situation in Ukraine, in particular with the Russian response to Ukrainian progress.
– It was said that in Ukraine we have carried out a “special operation”, but the war is already underway in our territory. And I am, in case you were wondering, very unhappy with this, writes Kadyrov on his Telegram channel.
– Slaughter of Norway’s defense capability
He also writes that Ukrainian cities should be “removed from the face of the earth” in response to Ukrainian artillery attacks.
– We have already declared a state of emergency, but the Ukrainians are not afraid. They shoot. Now I think we are responding too weakly. If an artillery shell flew in our direction, in our region, we would wipe out the cities. This is how people will understand that they don’t even have to think about shooting in our direction, writes Kadyrov.
He believes there is no reason to worry about the West’s reaction to such actions, as they have already imposed very severe sanctions and there is a limit to how much more they can do.
Defense Research Institute chief researcher Tor Bukkvoll says Kadyrov’s criticisms fit his tradition of making brutal statements.
– But the Russians do not have the opportunity to implement what he is proposing. They can use rockets against the power grid and it worked fine, but there are limits to what they can do. Russia probably does not have the ability to do what Kadyrov proposes, the researcher believes.
