According to rumors, the Kremlin wants to replace the infamous Wagner Group with a different group over which Vladimir Putin has more sway.
Putin has allegedly grown concerned about his own position as a result of an apparent conflict between the Russian Defense Ministry and the mercenary group.
In light of rumors of a power struggle between significant Russian officials, the Russian president is said to be concerned that the Wagner Group has grown excessively influential.
However, no other known Russian group comes close to Wagner’s military size or combat power, the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.
The British defence experts said the desire for a replacement group shows the Kremlin still wants to use mercenaries in Ukraine.
This is because they are less constrained by limited pay levels and the inefficiency that hampers Russia’s regular army.
The military leadership believe heavy casualties among a replacement group would also be more tolerated by Russian society, compared to regular military losses.
The Wagner Group – made up of ex-convicts – has played an important role in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
But in February, Wagner’s founder Yevgeny Prigozhin was ordered to reduce his 50,000-strong army, and replace them with 300,000 ordinary soldiers.
Putin reportedly fears Prigozhin’s influence in Ukraine could soon outstrip his own and make him vulnerable if a leadership bid was launched.
Fears of a power struggle between Putin and Prigozhin may also explain the Kremlin’s determination to replace the Wagner Group.
While the group is notorious, feared and dangerous – it does not actually exist as a legal entity, and analysts are still debating how to define it.
It instead operates more like a network of different, overlapping groups in various parts of the world.
The group is seemingly run beyond the law in Russia and is linked to neo-Nazism and far-right extremism.
Operatives have committed war crimes in Ukraine and other locations, including rape and robbery of civilians as well as torturing accused deserters.