OLGA MALTSEVA / AFP
Ukraine: tensions between the Wagner group and the Russian army? Moscow speaks after Soledar (Illustrative photo: a meeting at the headquarters of the Wagner Group in Saint Petersburg on November 4, 2022)
WAR IN UKRAINE – “A Manipulation” : the Kremlin denied on Monday January 16 any tension between the Russian army and the paramilitary group Wagner, whose increasingly competing forces appear in Ukraine.
“This conflict only exists in the information space”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Russia “must and know how to recognize his heroes. It recognizes the heroes who serve in the armed forces (…) and those who come from the paramilitary group Wagner”he added. “All are fighting for their country. »
The divisions between the Russian army and the Wagner group, noted by many observers, came to light last week during the battle for the small town of Soledarin eastern Ukraine.
Wagner accuses the army of fly ” his ” victories »
The leader of the Wagner Group, businessman Yevgeny Prigojine, has repeatedly claimed that only his men are fighting the Ukrainian forces in this city.
And when Yevgeny Prigojine claimed responsibility for taking Soledar on Wednesdayhe was quickly contradicted by the Russian Defense Ministry, which itself announced the capture of the city two days later, what kyiv denied.
In the process, Evguéni Prigojine published a message in which he attacked, without naming them, “those who constantly seek to steal our victories”. Rarely, the Russian Ministry of Defense then issued a press release welcoming the ” courage “ of Wagner’s men at Soledar.
“Manipulation of information”
This saga has been widely covered and commented on by Russian military bloggers, including those who support the offensive against Ukrainemany of whom are critical of the way the operation is being carried out.
Information on the tensions between the army and Wagner is “the product of manipulations of information, which are sometimes the work of our adversaries and sometimes of our own friends who act in such a way that we do not need an enemy”estimated Dmitry Peskov, in a veiled criticism of these bloggers.
The Wagner Group, founded in 2014, has recruited thousands of inmates to fight in Ukraine in exchange for sentence reductions. Formerly discreet, Evguéni Prigojine has established himself as a major player in the conflict in Ukraine.
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