“Wagner” founder Prigozhin launched a verbal attack against other Russian private military companies being deployed by the Kremlin in Ukraine, highlighting the spread of Russian mercenary groups, especially those linked to oligarchs and political leaders.
The Ukrainian government body National Resistance Center has described these groups as “neo-feudal”, meaning private armies outside official Russian structures, competing with the official army and believing more in their “patrons” than in Russian President Putin.
“These PMCs have not only heavy equipment and artillery, but even aviation,” the National Resistance Center noted.
Mercenaries and PMCs are not a new phenomenon, but the alignment of military and political power in these private companies makes their leaders look more like warlords than “guns for hire.”
“As most private military groups founded by oligarchs, corporations and politicians compete with the Defense Ministry, Russian warlords may be the most common player in the Russian political arena”.
PMCs have come in handy in Russia during the ongoing campaign against Ukraine. The National Resistance Center said in early March that PMCs allow Putin to avoid conducting general conscription. The UK Ministry of Defense said on April 4 that Putin probably believes that mercenary casualties are better tolerated by civilians than the deaths of Russian soldiers.
Is the ‘Wagner’ founder on a downward spiral?
Prigozhin, as an oligarch, is an economic force in various industries such as catering and catering businesses. He is often described as close to Putin, providing him with some political power and of course, through his mercenary group, he has his own army.
In multiple engagements, most recently at Bakhamut, “Wagner” has been credited by Western intelligence as being responsible for Russian victories. Wagner’s successes have created controversy between the team and the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The UK Ministry of Defense assessed on April 4 that Russia is seeking to procure and deploy other PMCs to replace the Wagner as a vanguard of invasion.
There are Russian PMCs operating in Ukraine, although they are far from Wagner’s military force. “PMC Redut, is a PMC said to belong to oligarch Tymchenko,” it says.
Others were created more recently, in response to the success of ‘Wagner’. Shoigu is said to have created his own PMC, “Patriot”, to compete with Prigozhin, according to Ukrainian media and government.
According to Prigozhin’s claims, PMC “Potok” and PMC “Alexander Nevsky” are financed by Gazprom, the state gas company. The Ukrainian National Resistance Center had said that Gazprom was building its own power in mid-February. Prigozhin claimed on Saturday that Potok is subordinate to Redut, which in turn is linked to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Competitors can be seen on the horizon
In February, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said he also plans to create his own military company, similar to Wagner. Kadyrov is an ally of Putin but has also criticized Shoigu and worked alongside Prigozhin.
“When my term in the state is over, I seriously plan to compete with our dear brother Prigozhin and create a private military company. I think everything will work out,” he has said.
Kadyrov’s Chechen Republic fighters were also decisive forces at the start of the war, although Kadyrov has since lost political prominence. The National Resistance Center claimed in early March that Kadyrov had begun recruiting fighters from separatist forces in Donetsk.
The Ukrainian National Center of Resistance has accused Prigozhin of having political ambitions, including control of the defense ministry. In what is likely an exaggeration, the governing body described Prigozhin as being embroiled in a “feudal war for Putin’s legacy”.
The Center said in February that the creation of these groups represents the erosion of the state’s monopoly on violence. Indeed, in situations in which the state is not the only entity with a legitimate use of force, it is often in direct armed conflict with rival groups loyal to prominent individuals. This can be seen recently, between Sudanese warlords in control of different state militias.
The Russian military is in a political conflict with the PMCs, and perhaps as the National Resistance Center predicts, there will be a civil war between these Russian warlords in the future.
