Vladimir Putin's top military leader, convicted criminal and head of Russia's Wagner mercenary army Yevgeny Prigozhin, has recently drawn attention to deepening cracks in Moscow's military apparatus.. It was only in the first half of May that his self-promotional statements left the impression not only of the regime's confusion, but also of its potential disintegration..

First, Prigozhin threatened to withdraw his Wagner mercenaries from Bakhmut, many of whom are Russian prisoners fighting on the promise of freedom if they survive a brutal battle in eastern Ukraine.. Then he refused this threat. And after a while he repeated it, writes the Washington Post in an editorial..

In doing so, he did what was widely interpreted as a public blow to Putin, his patron. Although the target could have been Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. In one swearing attack on social media, he accused both General Shoigu and General Valery Gerasimov — the commander of the Russian army whom he called a “scumbag” — of the Wagner forces suffering from a shortage of ammunition, allegedly the basis for his initial threat..

Shoigu! Gerasimov! These are someone's parents and someone's sons! ... They came here as volunteers and are dying for you so that you can have a prosperous life, ”prigozhin shouted, standing next to dozens of corpses of Wagner soldiers killed in Bakhmut.

[see_also ids\u003d"

Prigozhin is a bandit whose antics have become a political show against the backdrop of Putin's devastating war against Ukraine. They inspired a debate about whether Putin himself tolerates, encourages or suffers from terrible public animosity..

“Perhaps Prigozhin is convenient for the Russian tyrant, providing him with a counterbalance to the regular army and any potential threat it may pose to the regime.. And while the Wagner Group is a small fraction of the total Russian forces in Ukraine, its forces account for a disproportionate share of the fighting and casualties in Bakhmut, the only place where Moscow’s soldiers have gained territorial gains since the fall..

The Washington Post writes that Bakhmut fell over the weekend after months of brutal fighting and is now controlled by the Russians, thanks in large part to Wagner troops.. But the Ukrainian military advanced in the suburbs, pushing Russian forces back several miles.. U.S. intelligence estimates that of more than 100,000 Russian casualties around Bakhmut since December, including 20,000 dead, about half are Wagner mercenaries..

“Prigozhin’s extravaganza, amplified by the media platforms and channels he controls, is a symptom of regime dysfunction and war mismanagement, which also raises the question of how Putin holds power in his hands.. It should also bring some lessons about Russia to the West,” the article says..

One concerns the disastrous management by the Kremlin, which has proven to be inflexible, ill-informed and inconsistent.. And this was the main reason for the sclerotic behavior of the Russian military on the battlefield and the strategic failure of the invasion.. Russian military bloggers have documented these setbacks by highlighting army miscalculations.. Though they assiduously avoid accusations against Putin himself.

After 15 months of all-out war, Putin has reshuffled and rearranged his entire military command. This, together with poor planning, logistics and supply, further exacerbates the already poor morale of the Russian troops and depletes their combat capability..

[see_also ids\u003d"

Another conclusion is that not everything is calm among the Russian elites.. And if disobedience continues to grow in this critical electorate for the Putin regime, the result could easily be more instability in Moscow, which the West is likely to take advantage of..

“There are several possible dangers in this scenario.. Among them is the inability to predict who might succeed Putin if he loses power, or whether that successor would pose a greater or lesser threat to international stability.. And any upheaval in the Kremlin will raise questions about the security and subordination of the Russian nuclear arsenal,” the Washington Post notes..

Therefore, the West must act with due caution, but also with a sense of opportunity.. If the U.S.

and its allies can continue to pressure Russian elites—for example, by going after bankers, lawyers, and other supporters—the pressure on Putin to end the war will increase even further..

Russian army in Ukraine may not collapse anytime soon. It will be able to hold its deeply fortified positions in the face of the expected Ukrainian counter-offensive.. But Prigozhin's opposition to Russia's top leadership reflects the decay of a regime that has become hallmarks of cynicism, repression, lies and violence..