Putin facing tough choice due to rivalry between Defense Ministry and Prigozhin — UK Intelligence

The UK analysts said that the need for a new mobilization to continue the war is also connected with the fact that recently the founder of the Wagner private mercenary group, the Putin oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, has announced an end to the recruitment of Russian prisoners, who were replenishing the ranks of the occupying army.

Thus, “the data from the Russian Federal Penal Service had already suggested a drop-off in the rate of prisoner recruitment since December 2022. News of the harsh realities of Wagner service in Ukraine has probably filtered through to inmates and reduced the number of volunteers,” the analysts wrote.

Read also: Russia brings prisoners recruited by Wagner mercenaries to Zaporizhzhya Oblast, says General Staff

Read also: Russian Defense Minister is in conflict with Wagner PMC

UK intelligence wrote that direct competition between Prigozhin and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation was probably the key factor in the suspension of the mass recruitment of Russian prisoners at Wagner's PMK.

“A key factor in the termination of the scheme is likely increasingly direct rivalry between the Russian Ministry of Defense and Wagner,” U.K. Intel added. “The regular Russian military has likely now also deployed the vast majority of the reservists called up under ‘partial mobilization.’”

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine