When they started integrating Wagner into the regular force, at that moment he rebelled and he said, absolutely not. And very damagingly, Prigogen actually questioned the basis of Putin's special military operation saying there's been no real threat from Ukraine. That is a big, big statement to make because basically Putin based his whole narrative around oh, we were faced with a threat from Ukraine,. There were fascists. But this was clearly a challenge to Putin. This statement he's made really does undermine the legitimacy of Putin'sspecial military operation if they were ever looking for one.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, nicknamed “Putin’s chef”, leads the Wagner Group of mercenaries fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine. He had lambasted Russia’s military leaders for months, but the mutiny he began over the weekend lasted less than a day. Nevertheless it is a sharp blow to President Vladimir Putin’s leadership—and may prove to be a boon for Ukraine’s counter-offensive.
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