Putin’s Mercenary Prigozhin Shifts Focus After Ukraine Setbacks
- Wagner founder seen shifting attention to Africa operations
- Prigozhin also hints at political ambitions inside Russia
This article is for subscribers only.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the powerful founder of mercenary group Wagner, is preparing to scale back his private army’s operations in Ukraine after Russian military chiefs succeeded in cutting key supplies of men and munitions, people familiar with the matter said.
Seen as an increasing threat by the security and political establishment, Prigozhin is struggling with a manpower and ammunition shortage in Ukraine after he was barred from recruiting from prisons, his primary source of recruits, and deprived of supplies. Wagner troops so far have failed to take their main target - the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut - despite months of trying and staggering losses. Now, Prigozhin is planning to shift focus back to Africa, the people said.