Yevgeny Prigozhin said that if his PMC “Wagner” retreats from Bakhmut, then “the whole front will crumble.” But it could be blackmail.

Yes, in a commentary on Channel 24, Ivan Stupak, an ex-employee of the SBU, an expert at the Ukrainian Institute for the Future, said. According to him, the leader of the mercenaries wants to prove himself indispensable.

“If there is no me, Prigozhin, Wagnerites, then there will be no Russia. And if there is Prigozhin and Wagner, it will be Russia,” Stupak said.

The former SBU officer is convinced, it must be admitted, that it was thanks to the Wagnerites that the Russians managed to win certain “victories” in the East of Ukraine. Like, the mercenaries did their “dirty deed”.

But for the most part, not even the Wagnerites themselves. Wagner is a brand, it is marketing, just a sign. But the skeleton of the Wagnerites is long gone,” said an expert from the Ukrainian Institute for the Future.

Stupak said that only a small number of mercenaries remained from the skeleton of the Wagner PPK, because the Ukrainian military eliminated them. Currently, the PKK “Wagner” is fighting only with a criminal element. And at the same time, Prigozhin complained that he was no longer given prisoners.

“There are no prisoners already, now there will be only the remains of the skeleton that was in this Wagner, they will fight, but even then it is not clear what period of time,” he noted.

What is the status of Prigozhin and the Wagner military complex in Russia: watch the video

Quiet General's Revenge

Ivan Stupak believes that a quiet general's revenge took place.

“Ammunition began to be given to the Wagnerians according to the last principle -“ what reaches you is yours. ”Or else ignore all their requests,” he said.

In recent weeks, Yevgeny Prigozhin has complained about an alleged “shell shortage” in his VAT.

“What the Wagnerites call “shell hunger,” our military had a certain envy: “Wow, how many shells they give you, they didn’t give us so much,” said the ex-security service officer.

Subsequently, according to Stupak, the former head of the Alpha special unit of the SBU in the Donetsk region, Alexander Khodakovsky, who went over to the side of the enemy, said that the Wagnerites were allegedly equipped with shells thanks to other military units of the Russians.

“He complains: “They were given, and they took away from us. It's unfair, it's wrong,” said an expert from the Ukrainian Institute for the Future.

He is convinced that after a while the problem with ammunition will return to the Wagnerites.

Prigozhin – an ace in the hole

The ex-SBU officer is sure that the “star” of the leader of the mercenaries has not yet rolled up, since Prigozhin is still needed.

He solves certain issues and still enjoys the confidence of the inhabitants of the Kremlin. But this trust is no longer as voluminous, not as large-scale as it was somewhere else in September,” said the former SBU officer.

Ivan Stupak suggested that for the time being, probably, Prigogine should be “shoved into secondary roles.”

“But they will keep it like an ace up their sleeve, in case the Russian military fails again, and will rotate again,” he said.

What's going on at the Wagner PPK: latest news

• Yevgeny Prigozhin is convinced that his Wagner mercenaries should not retreat from Bakhmut. However, he said, if they do this, “the front will fall to the Russian borders, and maybe even further.”
• The leader of the Wagnerites figured out where to find a replacement for the prisoners. According to the Institute for the Study of War, Wagner has opened at least 3 recruiting centers based in Russian sports clubs.
• Wagnerites are agitating Russian high school students to join PIK. The mercenaries do not hide the fact that they are convicts and collect profiles of school graduates in order to recruit them.