Over several weeks the head of Wagner's infamous mercenary force has found himself kept at arms length by Russia's military brass, as Wagner committed forces to the battle of Bakhmut, and sustained heavy losses.
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prugozhin took his
most outspoken stand against the Kremlin's Ukraine narrative this week, contradicting Russian claims that NATO is fighting in Ukraine, and questioning whether there are actually Nazis in Ukraine either.
The Kremlin has repeatedly justified its invasion of its neighbour as necessary to purge Kyiv of neo-Nazis, who threaten the peace and security of Russia, despite there being little evidence of this.