The Wagner Group has increasingly shown defiance of the Russian Defense Ministry on the battlefield in Ukraine, leaving military leaders struggling to find ways to "rein in" them.
"No Wagner fighter is ready to go down the path of shame again. That is why they will not sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense," Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner private military corporation, said on June 14.
This was the most drastic statement by the Wagner boss, a day after President Vladimir Putin called on volunteer units fighting in Ukraine to sign contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry to ensure social support for wounded or dead fighters.
Observers say this is also a sign that tensions between Wagner and Russian military officials are becoming increasingly complicated, after Prigozhin repeatedly made fierce criticisms aimed at the top leaders of the Ministry of Defense.
"That puts military commanders in a situation where they're fighting two battles at once, one against the Ukrainians, and one to try to rein in Wagner and Prigozhin," said Ryan Pickrell, a military and defense commentator for Business Insider .
Prigozhin has expressed doubts about the battlefield information released by the Russian Defense Ministry, while some Wagner units have openly clashed with regular troops. Wagner appears to make some operational decisions independently of the Russian Defense Ministry, while the Russian military has sometimes made it difficult to supply Wagner units on the front lines with ammunition.
"This clearly makes command and control more difficult, hindering and slowing down combat operations," said Mark Cancian, an expert at the International Security Program of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), based in Washington, USA.
A Wagner member holds a flag of the private military corporation on a rooftop in Bakhmut on May 21. Photo: RIA Novosti
Mr. Cancian said the discord between Wagner and the Russian military is getting worse, as public criticism between the two sides becomes more intense. "If they don't support each other well, it can have negative consequences, but when they clash, the situation becomes dangerous," the expert assessed.
After taking control of Bakhmut with heavy losses in personnel and weapons, Wagner units withdrew from the city in Donetsk Oblast and handed over their positions to regular Russian troops. However, verbal spats between Wagner and the Russian Ministry of Defense continued.
Prigozhin detailed the "failures of the Russian army" during the fighting in Bakhmut. Wagner also released a video of them capturing a Russian lieutenant colonel and forcing him to admit that he had fired on their vehicle while drunk. Prigozhin also said that the Russian army's claims of victory were "fantasy".
Western experts say these incidents indicate larger problems with the Russian military.
"The Russian military has mobilized irregular forces in the campaign in Ukraine, and now they are facing problems from that. Their army is becoming increasingly disorganized due to lack of communication and coordination with irregular units," said Kateryna Stepanenko, an expert at the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Ms. Stepanenko said that Russian military commanders are currently unable to control irregular units, making their cohesion much worse than that of the Ukrainian army.
ISW has recorded numerous reports of friendly fire, Russian forces failing to organize coordinated mechanized attacks, or artillery mistakenly targeting infantry.
"Russia's heterogeneous forces on the battlefield lack the necessary connectivity to ensure a good line of defense," Stepanenko said.
Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin at an event in Vladivostok, Russia on May 31. Photo: RIA Novosti
Western experts also assessed that the "internal fighting" could reduce the fighting spirit of the Russian army, as they have to focus on dealing with Ukraine's counter-offensive campaign.
After General Valery Gerasimov took command of the operation in January, Russia sought to control irregular forces such as Wagner and the special forces of the Chechen Republic's leader by establishing a set of standards for order and discipline in the military.
Mr. Prigozhin opposed this effort, arguing that "instead of trying to mold people according to silly rules and regulations, you should develop according to the principles of modern warfare, learn how to destroy the enemy and control territory effectively."
On June 9, the Russian Defense Ministry issued a decree requiring volunteer combat units to sign contracts with the agency, thereby giving them a tool to control irregular units. Some volunteer units, including the 141st Akhmat Special Forces Motorized Brigade of the Chechen Republic's leadership, have signed contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry. However, Wagner continues to refuse.
ISW believes that "the Russian Defense Ministry's efforts to formalize combat forces may be aimed at centralizing control of personnel and supplies for irregular units to counter the Ukrainian counteroffensive, as well as limiting Prigozhin's ability to operate independently."
Mr. Priogozhin met with Wagner members before withdrawing from Bakhmut on May 25. Video: Telegram/Concordgroup
"Wagner will not sign any contracts," Prigozhin said to Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, insisting that this requirement did not apply to private military corporations, which he said were different from other volunteer units.
He claimed that Wagner only took orders from General Sergey Surovikin, who had been the commander-in-chief of Russia’s campaign in Ukraine. General Surovikin had recently become the liaison between the private military corporation and the Russian Defense Ministry. Mr Prigozhin had praised General Surovikin as “the only person in the Russian Defense Ministry who knows how to fight a battle”.
The Russian military has set a July 1 deadline for volunteer units to sign contracts with the Defense Ministry. It is unclear what they will do if Wagner refuses to do so.
According to ISW experts, the Defense Ministry's decree could be a premise to legitimize the cutting off of weapons and ammunition supplies to Wagner, thereby stripping the influence and power of this private military corporation as well as Mr. Prigozhin.
However, these internal disputes are unlikely to have a major impact on the situation on the Ukrainian battlefield. Wagner and the regular Russian brigades fought fiercely in Bakhmut, but they ultimately controlled the city.
“Having a unified set of standards makes command and control easier. However, Russian forces can still win without these,” Cancian said.
Nguyen Tien (According to Business Insider )
Source link
Comment (0)