Wagner Group: The last thing keeping Putin in control

"If he gets rid of Prigozhin, then the generals start dictating the agenda."

Yevgeny Prigozhin and his mercenary group have become a linchpin at the core of Putin's projection of power in Ukraine and around the world, Times Diplomatic Editor Roger Boyes tells #TimesRadio.
---

🗞 Subscribe to The Times Times.Radio/Subscribe

[sjay]

Hopefully this is the beginning of the end for the Russian aggression.

[wholebodysneeze]

The oft unspoken phrase - "they don't care about the things we care about" - is so central, in demonstrating a fundamental ability to look at things from more than one perspective. Truly a wise man.

[danielmori]

Superb interview, well done for letting the man speak - the opposite of a Radio 4 interview.

[jamesavickers]

My word this chap really really knows what he is talking about bravo thank you 🙏 very much indeed

[Graybeard_]

I suspect that those of us in the West are over thinking prigozhin. It is likely that he is a wannabe russian hero who wanted to come in and save the war in Ukraine. He calculated (mistakenly) that he could throw 20, 000 prisoners and 10, 000 wagner mercenaries at Bakhmut, take the city and claim he alone could beat Ukraine and then secure himself a place in russian history and in the kremlin. It didn't turn out that way, and now prigozhin sees he miscalculated (maybe because he has zero experience as a military leader/strategist), and now he wants out. So he begins a whine fest blaming the russian military for his woes, building a case for he withdraw. He will surely end up dead as a result of all of this and a mere footnote in history.

[szoszos]

An astonishing amount of background information. And sad wiseness. Thanks.

[benswan]

More long-form content like this, please. Far, far better than the usual 5-min soundbites where you tread over the same ground with every new guest. This was fantastic.

[boobiboo]

Finally, people are talking about Wagner in Africa. Took a while 👀

[andrewjohnston]

Prigozhin has made a lot of enemies with his comments in recent weeks - I suspect that at some point in the future they'll be looking for vengeance.

[eamoncarroll]

Rodger reminds me of Robert FIsk. Informed and not afraid to lay the cards on the table .well done

[barbrarobinson]

This is a fantastic interview, the beginnings of a more in depth documentary hopefully. So refreshing for the expert to be left to share knowledge, without being constantly interrupted by a needy interviewer.

[CM-dwxr]

Very interesting insights into the background drama that we don't usually see just watching the war, thank you!

[American-In-Mykolaiv]

Wonderful analysis - thanks for the in depth explanations!

[Belshay]

Good interview. Informative. Thanks Roger.

[Barnysmith]

Absolutely amazing interview. The best and most insightful I’ve seen on the topic. Well done.

[Omar-kwui]

Surprisingly refreshing balanced coverage from a British source. This was really good.

[creative-renaissance]

Excellent interview, very informative.

[salenddeo]

God bless Ukrainian Soldier hero 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🙏🔱💪

[akeleven]

Thank you for the thoughtful detailed information that we can't get out of CNN or MSNBC or fox.

[matthewwalker]

My only other thought in regards to declaring Wagner a terrorist group is, rather than help encourage Putin's support of Prigozhin, it MAY help fuel Prigozhin turning against Putin if he feels that he has been declared a terrorist for effectively doing Putin's bidding and thus help create further division amongst the Russian hierarchy. It would be cunning if the declaration was worded in a way that suggests to Prigozhin that it is because of Putin at least