The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence has said Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is set to win his ongoing showdown with Russia’s military chiefs and “military tribunals” await those who lose.
In an interview with ISLND TV on Tuesday evening, Kyrylo Budanov insisted that despite failing to take Bakhmut, Prigozhin’s influence “has not diminished.”
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The Wagner chief has been highly critical of Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Force, Valery Gerasimov, and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, whom he has accused of withholding ammunition.
Last week in an angry tirade posted on social media, Prigozhin threatened to pull his fighters out of Bakhmut, saying: “We have a 70 percent ammunition shortage, f**k! Shoigu! Gerasimov! Where is f**king ammunition? Look at them!
“You are sitting in expensive clubs. Your kids are having a blast making videos on YouTube. You think you are the masters of this life and have the right to dispose of their lives.”
Speaking of the conflict last night, Budanov said: “It's a balancing act, but there will still be a winner. There will be people who will lose, but it will not be Prigozhin.
“Prigozhin's influence has not diminished; that's the only thing we can say for sure. Will Prigozhin win this confrontation? In my opinion, he will win unanimously.
“What this will lead to, as they [Russians] like to say, military tribunals.”
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Budanov said one thing, in particular, working in Prigozhin’s favor is that he was not one of the decision makers behind Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
He said: “Prigozhin was not behind the plan of Russia’s aggressive attack on Ukraine; it was Gerasimov and Shoigu. Gerasimov and Shoigu were in favor, even though the majority were against it then.
“They became victims of their [own] propaganda.”
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