Kremlin infighting ‘destroying the Russian state’, says Wagner chief

Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Saturday that Kremlin factions are destroying the state by trying to sow discord between him and Chechen fighters

London: Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Saturday that Kremlin factions are destroying the state by trying to sow discord between him and Chechen fighters, a media report said.

Prigozhin said a dispute between him and Chechen forces, who are also fighting alongside the Russian army in Ukraine, has been resolved, The Guardian reported.

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But the Wagner chief blamed the discord on unidentified Kremlin factions – which he calls “Kremlin towers”, the report said.

Their scheming got so out of hand that Russian President Vladimir Putin was forced to scold them at a security council meeting, he said.

In a message posted by his press service, Prigozhin said, “Pandora’s Box is already open – we are not the ones who opened it. Some Kremlin tower decided to play dangerous games. Dangerous games have become commonplace in the Kremlin towers … they are simply destroying the Russian state,” The Guardian reported.

While he did not identify the Kremlin faction he said that if it continued its attempts to sow discord, it would have “hell to pay”.

The Kremlin did not comment on his remarks.

Ukraine is ready to launch its long-awaited offensive, President Vladimir Zelensky told the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in an interview published on Saturday. He did not reveal the exact date, but said Kiev can no longer “wait for months”, RT reported.

The operation is likely to inflict heavy losses on the Ukrainian troops, and might not go exactly as planned, Zelensky admitted, adding that Russia retaining air superiority would inevitably mean Kiev’s forces will be exposed to enemy fire.

“I don’t know how long it will take,” Zelensky said, commenting on the operation’s potential timeframe. He added that “it can go a variety of ways, completely different”, RT reported.