MOSCOW, May 31 (Reuters) - Russia's most powerful mercenary, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said on Wednesday that he had asked prosecutors to investigate whether senior Russian defence officials had committed any "crime" before or during the war in Ukraine.
Prigozhin's request is his most blatant public challenge to date against President Vladimir Putin's top military brass, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
The 61-year-old restaurateur-turned-mercenary has spent months insulting both Shoigu and Gerasimov, who are leading Russia's war effort, for alleged treachery.
He says loyalty to Putin is part of his political stance, which he summed up as: "I love my motherland, I serve Putin, Shoigu should be judged and we will fight on."
Prigozhin is not directly challenging Putin but rather playing a jester role and acting with the approval of those dismayed by the military's conduct of the war, officials, diplomats and analysts have told Reuters.
Persons:
Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Prigozhin, PUTIN'S, Wagner, Putin, Russia's, Guy Faulconbridge, Gareth Jones
Organizations:
Staff, Investigative Committee, Russian Federation, Defence Ministry, Reuters, Thomson
Locations:
MOSCOW, Ukraine, Bakhmut