“Complete nonsense”: Wagner boss exposes Putin’s favorite propaganda lie

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“The leadership of the Defense Ministry carefully deceives the president,” said Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin (62) on Friday in a video he published on his Telegram channel. That he railed against warfare is not new. But now he accuses Vladimir Putin (70) of falling for the lies of others.

The ministry and especially Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (68) allegedly deliberately provided the president with disinformation so that he feared an escalation with Ukraine and dealt the first blow.

Ukraine “did not bomb Donbass, only Russian positions,” Prigozhin continues. “The defense ministry says Ukraine wanted to attack Russia together with NATO.” What is wrong. The reason for the “Special Operation Z” is based on lies – a statement that is causing a stir in Russia.

Putin personally discredited

Gerhard Mangott (56), military expert at the University of Innsbruck, explains: “Prigozhin thus deprives the ‘special military operation’ of all legitimacy and destroys the central narrative of the Russian leadership for this war.” And further: “In doing so, he personally discredits Putin and increases the doubts of the population about the usefulness of the struggle,” said the expert.

In the 30-minute diatribe that followed, Prigozhin spoke of the war’s poor planning. Shoigu “killed thousands of people – the most combative part of the army,” the oligarch said. And yet Putin continues to receive disinformation about the situation at the front. The destroyed Leopard tanks and enemy troops are “complete nonsense”.

At the beginning of the invasion, Prigozhin spoke about the war in very different tones. In late February 2022, he said Putin had “done absolutely the right thing” and “prevented an attack on Russia,” according to the numerous telegrams.

Wagner’s boss is in trouble

“Prigozhin does not accuse Putin of making the wrong decision when he ordered the invasion, but criticizes unfair messages to Putin,” Mangott classifies the recent statements of the Wagner boss. And: “It’s another attempt to devalue the Defense Department’s civilian and military leadership — the sharpest attack yet.”

Prigozhin does not really turn his back on Putin. But according to Mangott, “He indirectly claims that Putin believed lies, so he was not in control of the situation when the invasion began.” A serious indictment of the Kremlin boss.

The air is getting thinner for Prigozhin. Putin signed a decree that by July 1, all mercenaries would be subordinated to the Russian Defense Ministry. Prigozhin thus loses power and would then be under his nemesis Shoigu. He refuses to accept that Putin apparently sides with Shoigu in this conflict.

Prigozhin stands “with his back against the wall”

“Prigozhin is under great pressure at the moment. He has his back against the wall,” Mangott summarizes the situation. He has little chance of retaining power over his mercenaries. As early as March, he was banned from recruiting more prisoners. Then state television was even banned from mentioning the Wagner group in coverage of Ukraine.

Russia could only win the battle in Bakhmut thanks to Wagner’s troops, but Prigozhin hardly gets credit for this and is now losing power over his mercenaries. But after his recent outburst, Putin is unlikely to come back.

And it will get even worse for Prigozhin. So far, many pro-Russian war bloggers have supported him. “His statements could lead the military bloggers to distance themselves from Prigozhin,” Mangott explained. Because: “Until now, like the bloggers, he has only criticized the kind of warfare. Now he doubts the usefulness of the war, which most bloggers don’t.”

Source: Blick