Putin vs. Prigozhin: A Race for the Russian Military (with Frederick W. Kagan)

Yevgeny Prigozhin is a unique figure among Russian President Vladimir Putin's tight circle of power players. He has no official position within the Kremlin, but controls a network of influential state-backed media outlets and serves as the de-facto head of the Wagner mercenaries. As Putin begins to lose his credibility with the Russian people, is Prigozhin proving to be a formidable threat? On this week's episode of The Eastern Front, Giselle, Dalibor, and Iulia speak with returning guest, Frederick W. Kagan, AEI senior fellow and director of the Critical Threats Project, to discuss how Prigozhin's attempts to independently control the Russian military has badly distorted Putin's war effort. What might this struggle for power say about the sustainability of the Russian regime? Might it encourage other players to challenge Putin's leadership? Kagan and the co-hosts also raise questions about Ukraine's long-awaited counteroffensive, including how the UK's supply of long range missiles factor into the Russian military's strategy and what the Biden administration still fails to understand about Ukraine's path to victory.Show notes: Sign up for The Eastern Front's biweekly newsletter here. Follow us on Twitter here.