Founder of Wagner PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin seeks to increase his influence in Putin's environment - Ukrainian Intelligence 

This is stated on the Telegram channel of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.

"By the actions of Wagner's PMC in Syria and Africa, hundreds of crimes against humanity committed by his mercenaries, no one from the West wants to deal with Pryhozhin. He has become a toxic person to the entire civilized world. That's why he has concentrated his efforts on the war so that he and his people can be in the main positions in Putin's environment. The steps for his survival are strengthening his positions and then taking high positions," emphasized Andrii Cherniak.

In particular, the DIU representative noted that there is a struggle for power in the Kremlin and for a "place near Putin" as well. So, the founder of the Wagner PMC seeks to show himself as a winner and emphasizes the successes of his military at the front in Ukraine.

"He says that these are Wagner's successes, but thousands of mercenaries have already been killed for the sake of minor tactical victories. They are being driven to the offensive over the corpses with the full support of the Russian forces. And now Gerasimov is unlikely to provide him with such support, because he needs his own achievements and victories, and he will do everything to neutralize Prigozhin. These are logical decisions.If there is success anywhere, it will be Shoigu and Gerasimov's success, not Prigozhin's. But with all their efforts, the new command of the Russian forces can’t achieve significant success," he summarized.

• The Institute for the Study of War emphasized that the Kremlin continues to publicly deny the statements of the founder and curator of the Wagner PMC Yevgeny Pryhozhin that only Wagner members participated in the capture of Soledar. In response, Prigozhin is trying to undermine the credibility of the Russian Defense Ministry