Putin using Bakhmut to destroy Wagner Group and ‘put its chief in his place’, says ISW

Analyst says Ukraine battle – in which the Russian side has suffered heavy casualties – is part of a wider Kremlin power play

A poster depicting Russian president Vladimir Putin is displayed as people gather during a protest to mark one year since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, near the Russian embassy in Seoul (AFP via Getty Images)

Russia’s months-long battle to capture the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut is being used by the Kremlin to “largely destroy” the private Wagner Group and put its chief Yevgeny Prigozhin “in his place”, according to experts monitoring the conflict.

Analysts have suggested an ulterior motive to the Russian leadership’s determination to keep throwing mercenary units into the bloody siege, with disagreements over Ukraine increasingly driving a wedge between Vladimir Putin and his long-time ally.

The Wagner Group has trained and deployed thousands of convicted criminals in Ukraine – promised their freedom if they can survive six months on the frontline – ever since the Russian president launched his full-scale invasion of the former Soviet nation.