Regime change, shi* disturbing, and attempts at utopian global democracy are at a virtual standstill.
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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Wagner Boss Appears to Issue Veiled Threat to Kremlin in Ominous Video |
| 2023-03-06 |
| [Daily Beast] Just as the Wagner Group appears on track to bring Moscow its first battlefield win in Ukraine in months, founder Yevgeny Prigozhin has released a nearly four-minute video apparently issuing a veiled threat to the Kremlin. Unlike a video released a day earlier, in which Prigozhin gleefully boasted that Wagner was on the brink of victory in Bakhmut, this time he spoke solemnly in a dark room to warn of the bloody consequences for Russia if his men were to now "retreat." "If Wagner retreats from Bakhmut now, the whole front will collapse," he said. "The situation will be unpleasant for all military formations protecting Russia’s interests," he added, claiming the [Russian] army would be "forced to stabilize the front" while "Crimea falls" and there would be "many other cataclysms." Predicting that Wagner would be scapegoated for Russia losing the war, he said mercenaries under his command would know exactly who to blame for the betrayal. "And this is exactly the problem with ammunition hunger. ... Regular fighters... They will come and say, ’Boss, could it be that this story is being played up somewhere deep in the Defense Ministry, or maybe higher, in order to explain to the Russian people why we ended up in this trouble? What if they want to set us up and say we are villains, and that’s why we aren’t given ammo and weapons and allowed to reinforce personnel, including convicts?" Apparently trying to drill home the message that Wagner—and not Russia’s regular army—was the one keeping the Kremlin’s war machine afloat, Prigozhin repeatedly described his mercenaries as the "cement" holding the whole war effort together "at the very top." It was not clear if his message was meant as an ultimatum to strong-arm defense officials into sending Wagner the help Prigozhin has repeatedly alleged the Defense Ministry is deliberately withholding. Or if it was simply a demand for the mercenary group to get credit for its ruthless performance on the battlefield. While Prigozhin is long said to have had President Vladimir Putin’s ear, there have been growing signs in recent weeks that he’s now become a thorn in the Kremlin’s side. His simmering feud with top Russian military brass erupted last month into him publicly accusing Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov of committing "treason" by trying to "destroy" Wagner, supposedly because they were jealous that the shadowy group had outshined regular troops on the battlefield. He suggested they were also to blame for Wagner having been sidelined from recruiting convicts for the war effort. But the Kremlin so far has stood by its own military brass and omitted Wagner from its announcements about the state of the war. And some close to Prigozhin reportedly fear that his power grab might dramatically backfire. One unnamed source in his circle told the Financial Times late last month, "There’s a risk he could end up like Icarus." Related: Yevgeny Prigozhin: 2023-02-28 Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: February 27th, 2023 Yevgeny Prigozhin: 2023-02-27 Russian Perspective: Operation to Denazify Ukraine: Operational Brief February 26th (updated) Yevgeny Prigozhin: 2023-02-26 Russian Perspective: Operation to Denazify Ukraine: Operational Brief February 25th (updated) |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #8 Oh don't worry about the military industrial complex. They have so many new toys in development and soon production they are good even without Ukraine. Of course that is icing on the cake. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2023-03-06 15:48 |
| #7 Re: your comment at #4, B, yes, the MIC is sort of like a junkie trying to get by on candy bars and cough syrup at present until it can score the good stuff again. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2023-03-06 13:20 |
| #6 In the old days, reliable party officers would be manning machine guns behind the Wagner troops to make sure nobody retreats. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2023-03-06 13:12 |
| #5 Wagner mercenary chief warns the entire Russian frontline is at risk of COLLAPSING if his troops fail to take Bakhmut and are forced to retreat |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2023-03-06 10:29 |
| #4 Regime change, shi* disturbing, and attempts at utopian global democracy are at a virtual standstill. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2023-03-06 05:46 |
| #3 We have a much larger problem. This is what happens when the military-industrial complex dictates policy. They want more war, more war, more money, more systems. It never stops. |
| Posted by: Voldemort Bourbon4933 2023-03-06 05:40 |
| #2 Yevgeny Pirozhin to soon be sharing an a room in Hell with Ernst Roehm? |
| Posted by: magpie 2023-03-06 03:29 |
| #1 Vlad appears to have a Military Industrial Complex control problem. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2023-03-06 00:42 |