Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group military company, arrives during a funeral ceremony at the Troyekurovskoye cemetery in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, April 8, 2023.
It's well known that there's no love lost between the outspoken Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and Russia's Ministry of Defense; Prigozhin has openly and repeatedly criticized the ministry's most senior officials, including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, in expletive-laden rants slamming Russia's military strategy in Ukraine.
But now, however, tensions appear to be emerging between Prigozhin and the Russian leadership, putting him in a precarious position with the Russian president.
Precarious place for PrigozhinPrigozhin has stated that he's confident a compromise can be found that avoids the need for a contract with the defense ministry, but analysts say the mercenary boss is on shaky ground in his apparent defiance of Putin.
Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin attends the funeral of Dmitry Menshikov, a fighter of the Wagner group who died during a special operation in Ukraine, at the Beloostrovskoye cemetery outside St. Petersburg, Russia, on Dec. 24, 2022.
Persons:
Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Mikhail Klimentyev, Shoigu, Putin, Prigozhin Prigozhin, he's, Dmitry Menshikov
Organizations:
Wagner Group, AP, Kremlin, Wagner, Russia's Ministry of Defense, Putin, Russian Defence Ministry Board, Afp, Getty, Shoigu, Defence Ministry, Ministry of Defense, Google, Wagner PMC, MoD
Locations:
Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Bakhmut, Prigozhin, Russian, St . Petersburg