It's no secret that there is strained relations between the founder of PIK “Wagner” and the Russian Ministry of Defense. However, Prigozhin suddenly changed his tactics and began to appease the Kremlin with his statements.

This was reported by American analysts at the Institute for the Study of War. According to their observations, Evgeny Prigozhin has recently softened his rhetoric on the Russian Defense Ministry.

What is the reason for this behavior of Prigogine

The ISW believes that the founder of the Wagner PPK is afraid of completely losing his mercenaries in Bakhmut. Recently, Prigozhin expressed concern about the planned counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Chef Putin's statements indicate an immediate threat to Russian troops. Consequently, Prigozhin is trying to get more supplies and reinforcements from the Russian Ministry of Defense in order to save his forces in Bakhmut.

Experts say that Prigozhin recently made several positive statements about the defense ministries of the aggressor country. In particular, the owner of the Wagner PPK reacted unexpectedly with approval to the Kremlin's efforts to recruit volunteers.

Prigozhin has expressed some criticism of Russia's military bureaucracy, namely the military-industrial complex (DIC), but such criticism echoes the current state propaganda narrative.

ISW analysts claim that Yevgeny Prigozhin was a vocal critic of the Russian military command. Therefore, the softening of his rhetoric may indicate that he was trying to partially appease the Russian Ministry of Defense in order to receive supplies and reinforcements for the Wagner PIK forces in Bakhmut.

Shifting focus on Africa

Bloomberg recently reported that Prigozhin is preparing to wind down Wagner's operations in Ukraine after the Russian leadership cut key supplies of personnel and ammunition.

The Wagner troops, despite months of attempts and staggering losses, have still not been able to take their main goal – Bakhmut. Now Prigozhin plans to turn his attention to Africa .

After weeks of public complaints that the occupiers were not being supplied with vital shells and other supplies, Prigozhin admitted that after the battle for Bakhmut was over, the Wagner would have to “reboot and reduce its forces.”

At the same time, the sources of the publication indicate that so far there are no signs that Prigozhin will transfer troops to Africa. But people familiar with the situation say operations in Africa are likely to come to his attention in the future as the situation in Ukraine has become more difficult for his forces.

The situation at the front: latest news

• The Russian army does not leave attempts to seize the East of Ukraine. There, the invaders are conducting offensive operations in the Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky, Maryinsky and Miners directions. In other directions, the enemy is on the defensive.
• the occupiers do not stop trying at any cost. take control of Bahmut. According to Alexander Syrsky, our military will soon take advantage of the opportunity and outplay the enemy.
• The Russians concentrated their efforts on deploying maneuvers, including in the Avdiivka area. The ISW suggests that there the enemy can probably increase the pace of the offensive by a conditional “pause” near Bakhmut.