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British intelligence services speak of a “deliberate effort to undermine” the position of the Russian military authorities
June 20 () –
The intelligence services of the United Kingdom have influenced this Tuesday that the “tone” used by the head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeni Prigozhin, towards the Ministry of Defense of Russia “is openly belligerent”, given the increase in tensions between both parties. in the framework of the invasion of Ukraine.
“Prigozhin’s tone towards the Russian Defense Ministry is openly belligerent. The Defense Ministry almost certainly finds this profoundly ill-advised at a time when it is facing the Ukrainian counteroffensive,” they said.
Thus, they have recalled that Prigozhin recently revealed that he awaits a response from the ministry on a ‘contract’ that he has prepared, after the ultimatum given by Moscow to the Wagner Group and other armed groups of “volunteers” to sign this type of document before 1 July to regularize their situation.
“While the content of Prigozhin’s document has not been published, the fact that he handed it over raises the stakes and it is very likely that it is another deliberate effort to undermine the authority of the official military authorities,” they explained, as The British Ministry of Defense has said in a statement on its account on the social network Twitter.
The British intelligence services pointed out last week that the rhetoric of the head of the Wagner Group “is evolving towards a challenge to broad sectors” of the Russian authorities, after his open refusal to sign contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry.
The Russian Defense Ministry demanded on June 10 that members of “volunteer formations” such as the Wagner Group sign contracts with the portfolio, a move backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, although Prigozhin strongly opposed this option and He stressed that he would only be accountable to the Kremlin, which has, however, supported the Defense portfolio proposal.
The head of the Wagner Group recently called on the Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, to go to the front in Bakhmut (east) during the offensive against the city, after which he denounced a withdrawal of Russian troops from the city shortly after its capture and asked the Russian Defense Minister to go to the battlefield and die “like a hero”. Prigozhin has also targeted the chief of the General Staff, Valeri Gerasimov, as the target of his criticism.
