Infighting Among The Kremlin Elites (UPDATED)

With their invasion of Ukraine not going their way, and the Ukrainian counteroffensive making small but important advances, the bickering within the Russian establishment is showing the dysfunction in leadership. From the Associated Press:

"The video was shocking — not just for what it showed but also for what was said.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the outspoken millionaire head of the private military contractor Wagner, stood in front of the bloodied bodies of his slain troops in Ukraine and yelled expletive-riddled insults at Russian military leaders, blaming them for the carnage.

'They came here as volunteers and they died to let you lounge in your red wood offices,' Prigozhin shouted. 'You are sitting in your expensive clubs, your children are enjoying good living and filming videos on YouTube. Those who don’t give us ammunition will be eaten alive in hell!'”

For those following events in Ukraine, Prigozhin's rants are familiar. As war criminal Putin's former chef and an ex-convict and war criminal himself, the Wagner leader had Putin's ear for years, as Wagner's mercenary forces brought him extra income from propping up dictators in Africa and elsewhere. His modest successes in Ukraine have elevated him in the Kremlin hierarchy. But his attacks not only on the military command but on the wealthy elites who survive at Putin's pleasure show a deeper crack in the terrorist state's facade. 

Prigozhin's attacks on Russia's military high command serve a purpose for the Russian dictator. If military leaders can be blamed for Russia's poor performance in Ukraine, it diverts from Putin's responsibility for his initial, catastrophic mistake with the invasion. Playing factions off against another may help Putin in the short term, but not if he hopes to defeat Ukraine:

"Putin needs Prigozhin’s mercenaries at a time when the regular military is still recovering from setbacks earlier in the invasion. The Wagner chief’s position was bolstered after the private army captured Bakhmut last month in the war’s longest and bloodiest battle, relying on tens of thousands of convicts who were promised pardons if they survived six months of fighting.

'Putin dominates the system, but he still sort of depends upon a small number of big people to implement his will, to provide him with resources to carry out his orders, including fighting the war,' [Strategic Survey editor Nigel] Gould-Davies told AP.

While Putin may adhere to keeping various factions divided and then intervening to 'decide who wins and who loses, and who’s up and who’s down,' the process erodes the government’s authority in wartime, Gould-Davies said.

'That may be a way of keeping the political system going, but it’s certainly not the way to fight the war, because if your military forces are divided and if they’re not fighting together effectively, then your military operations will suffer accordingly and that’s exactly what’s happening here,' he said." (our emphasis)

UPDATE:  Prigozhin today accused the Kremlin of attacking Wagner forces in Ukraine, escalating the infighting to new level. The Kremlin has now accused him of incitement of armed rebellion. Popcorn please.

(photo: CNN)