The Kremlin continues to publicly challenge Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin’s claims that Wagner Group forces were solely responsible for capturing Soledar, Donetsk Oblast, on January 12.
2/ Putin attributed the success on the frontlines to the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) and General Staff plans when responding to a journalist’s question on January 15 regarding Russian advances in Soledar.
3/ Putin’s statement was aired live on state-controlled TV and was likely a deliberate effort to undermine Prigozhin’s influence within the Russian information space, given that Putin has previously refrained from commenting on tactical advances in Ukraine.
4/ Putin may have also sought to demonstrate he retains control over traditional Russian mass media, while Prigozhin continues to grow an audience on Telegram and other social media networks.
5/ The Russian MoD, in turn, continued to report that Russian Southern Military District assault detachments and Russian airborne troops are attacking Ukrainian positions around Bakhmut and likely deliberately excluded mentioning Wagner forces in its January 15 daily briefing.
6/ Meanwhile, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov may have indirectly accused Prigozhin of deliberately exposing the conflict between the Russian MoD and Wagner in the Russian information space.
7/ Peskov attempted to dispel reports of an ongoing conflict between Prigozhin and the Russian MoD, stating on January 16 that these reports are “products of information manipulations.”
8/ Peskov, however, added that while most of such manipulations come from Russia’s "enemies,” the Kremlin has ”friends” who also behave in a similar way.
9/ Peskov’s statement may have been tacitly aimed at Prigozhin, whose criticism of the Russian MoD is growing increasingly brazen.
10/ Peskov also continued Putin’s efforts to undermine Wagner’s narrative that only Wagner forces were responsible for capturing Soledar, noting that Russians will remember both Russian servicemembers and Wagner forces for their achievements. isw.pub/UkrWar011623
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#Prigozhin directly attacked Russian President Vladimir #Putin’s presidential administration and insinuated that some officials working there are traitors who want #Russia to lose the war in #Ukraine—one of his boldest attacks against the #Kremlin to date. isw.pub/UkrWar011823
2/ #Prigozhin weighed in on an ongoing Russian policy debate about banning YouTube and stated that some officials in the #Kremlin oppose banning YouTube because it would undermine their effort to have the US & Russia reestablish relations after #Russia loses the war in #Ukraine.
3/ #Prigozhin criticized the MoD’s new guidelines for Russian troops in #Ukraine that restrict the use of certain personal electronic devices in combat zones and set stricter guidelines for men’s grooming standards on January 18.
2/ #Putin visited workers at the Obukhov State Plant—part of the Almaz-Antey Russian state-owned defense industrial company—on January 18.
3/ #Putin stated that the Russian defense industry currently can produce more than it could previously in an unspecified past time frame and stated that #Russia will achieve the defense industrial production level that Russia needs.
#Putin’s speech commemorating the Soviet forces’ breaking of the siege of #Leningrad signaled that he remains uncertain about his ability to significantly shape the #Russian information space.
2/ #Putin’s speech is likely part of a larger informational effort to wrap the "special military operation" inside the greater Russian national mythos of the Great Patriotic War (the Second World War) to increase Russian support for a protracted war and mobilization.
3/ Russian Foreign Minister Sergei #Lavrov augmented these efforts to increase Russian support for a protracted war by explicitly and ludicrously claiming that #Ukraine and the West are pursuing the genocide of the Russian people.
#Wagner Group financier Yevgeny #Prigozhin claimed on Jan. 17 that a 4th round of prisoners who completed their contracts with the Wagner Group to fight in #Ukraine received pardons. isw.pub/UkrWar011723
2/ This is only the second time that #Prigozhin has publicly "pardoned" ex-convicts who completed their contracts with the #Wagner Group: the first time was on Jan. 5, as ISW previously reported.
ISW reported on Jan. 9 that Russian Human Rights Council member Eva Merkacheva ...
3/ ... stated that #Russian President Vladimir #Putin issued secret and preemptive pardons to Russian convicts fighting with the #Wagner Group in #Ukraine, under a secret presidential decree. ISW notes that the Russian Criminal Code and Article 89 of the Russian Constitution ...
Serbian President Alexander Vucic called on the Wagner Group to cease recruitment in Serbia on January 16 and asked rhetorically why Wagner is violating Serbia’s laws. isw.pub/UkrWar011723
2/ Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin stated that Wagner does not operate in Serbia and claimed that no Serbian nationals are enlisted in Wagner detachments because “Serbs themselves are doing an excellent job at handling their problems.”
3/ (Prigozhin’s statement may be a form of sarcasm, given the recent tensions between Kosovo and Serbia).
The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) is trying to improve professionalism within the Russian armed forces and likely test and improve the effectiveness of its chains of command down to the small unit level. isw.pub/UkrWar011723
2/ Several milbloggers commented on a reported list of guidelines for Russian troops in Ukraine that restricts the use of personal vehicles and certain personal electronic devices in the combat zone and sets stricter guidelines for the grooming standards of men on the frontlines.
3/ The Russian MoD is likely attempting to institute these measures to instill greater professionalism in Russian troops and potentially gauge the ability of lower-level commanders to execute orders to standard, two issues that were brought to light after the Makiivka strike.