ISW finds new evidence that Kremlin fears Prigozhin's influence
The Kremlin used Yevgeny Prigozhin's lawsuit against journalist Alexey Venediktov to further reduce the influence of Wagner PMC founder in Russia
This is reported by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
American analysts state that the Kremlin denies Yevgeny Prigozhin legitimacy and power in Russia.
On February 6, a Moscow court refused to recognize Prigozhin as the owner and founder of Wagner PMC after re-examining his lawsuit against Russian journalist Alexey Venediktov. ISW believes this fact to be new proof.
Back in June 2021, Prigozhin sued Venediktov, trying to refute the journalist's statement that he is the Wagner PMC owner.
The court found the information unreliable then.
On January 19, 2023, Prigozhin tried to overturn the court's decision, claiming that Venediktov was not lying. He might have done this to compensate for partially losing influence after the Wagner mercenaries were replaced with units of the regular Russian army around Bakhmut.
"ISW previously assessed that the Russian military’s decreasing reliance on Wagner forces around Bakhmut is likely reducing Prigozhin’s influence within the Kremlin inner circle" analysts concluded.
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On February 2, ISW analysts concluded that the Russian Ministry of Defense is trying to limit the participation of the Wagner PMC mercenaries in future operations in Ukraine.
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