The Wagner Group's Struggle for Power and Influence in Ukraine

Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, has been struggling to take the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which he hoped would bring him political glory. Prigozhin has accused the Russian Ministry of Defence of blocking ammunition deliveries to his fighters, and has publicly lamented losing his direct line to the Kremlin. An anti-Prigozhin camp has formed within the defence ministry, emboldened by Wagner's difficulties on the battlefield, to disparage the man known as "Putin's chef". The battle for Bakhmut has become as much about Russia's political future as the outcome of the war.