Mr. Prigozhin said this in a video made by so-called Russian “war correspondents” (milbloggers) and posted on pro-Russian social media.
“As of today, we are approaching the end of the private military company Wagner. And in a short time, Wagner will cease to exist,” Mr. Prigozhin announced unexpectedly.
When it was suggested that statements like this would dismay the Russians, boss Wagner replied that Wagnerites would “go down in history”.
He also alluded, not for the first time, to a lack of ammunition. Prigozhin criticized the Russian Defense Ministry and Russian officials. This is only to emphasize the contradiction between mercenaries and the regular army of the Russian Federation.
In particular, he repeatedly complained about the lack of ammunition and blamed the loss of Wagner’s forces on the lack of weapons.
Separate Russian sources say that Prigozhin wants approval and even greater support from the Kremlin.
Recently, Mr. Yevgeny Prigozhin called on the Russian authorities to declare an end to the special military operation in Ukraine and focus on consolidating control over the occupied territories of Ukraine. Mr. Prigozhin concluded by saying that the best-case scenario for Russia would be a major battle with Ukraine.
Andrii Yusov, a representative of the Defense Intelligence Service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, believes that Prigozhin’s remarks reflect the mood of Russia’s political and military elites, and that there are now “many small cracks” in the Kremlin that will increasingly wide.