Wagner Group in financial straits – is Moscow pulling out? British Ministry of Defense reveals possible cracks in Russian support network.
The British Ministry of Defense reports that the Wagner Group, a private Russian military company, is facing a possible downsizing and restructuring process. This could be motivated primarily by financial pressures, with the aim of reducing salary costs. Since a failed mutiny in June 2023, the Russian state has taken action against some business interests of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group, he said.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 13 August 2023.Find out more about Defence Intelligence’s use of language: https://t.co/kqqs8BQtnU🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/SWEsdzEGl2
– Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) August 13, 2023
According to the British Ministry of Defense, the Kremlin could stop financial support to the Wagner Group. In such a scenario, Belarusian authorities could be considered as potential financiers. But, the ministry stresses, the Wagner Group’s substantial troop strength could place a significant burden on Belarus’s limited resources.
Image: UlPravda TV, Yevgeny Prigozhin (13-06-2023), CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, (image size changed)