Originally published at: Mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin "offered to give Ukraine the position of Russian troops" | Boing Boing
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Getting Russia to behead Wagner seems like a useful ploy for Ukraine. 
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Avoid windows and tea, Yevgeny. And underpants.
And cars. And awards ceremonies.
It looks like numerous parties want this orc chieftain’s story to accelerate to its end. He won’t be missed.
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I suspect some masterly psyops by the Ukrainian intelligence services, but who knows? I do know that if this story reaches the rank-and-file in the regular Russian army, relationships between Wagner and the regulars are likely to deteriorate in spectacular fashion.
True or not, stories like this have a way of sticking around. Prigozhin and his crew are gonna need to take Bakhmut by lunchtime on Tuesday if they want to redeem themselves in the eyes of their peers.
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So what you’re telling me is that this mercenary is…mercenary.
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“I never thought mercenaries would turn against me for money!” sobs dictator who hired mercenaries to do things for money.
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“Machiavelli? Who’s that?”
What was true in the 16th century remains the same now.
Mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous; and if one holds his state based on these arms, he will stand neither firm nor safe; for they are disunited, ambitious, and without discipline, unfaithful, valiant before friends, cowardly before enemies; they have neither the fear of God nor fidelity to men, and destruction is deferred only so long as the attack is; for in peace one is robbed by them, and in war by the enemy. The fact is, they have no other attraction or reason for keeping the field than a trifle of stipend, which is not sufficient to make them willing to die for you.
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I have the feeling that a window will be too elegant for someone’s tastes.
And they were singing, bye bye Mr Uruk-Guy…
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Some enterprising young tech billionaire should outbid Putin for Wagner services in Ukraine and send them up to Siberia to build roads and schools.
They are mercenaries for hire after all…I’m sure even the newly-conscripted convicts would prefer that over dodging RPG shrapnel.
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Originally published at: Russia's mercenaries in Ukraine willing to sell out | Boing Boing
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Reboing:
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You’re not wrong, though I think the currency being negotiated in this particular situation is not money but reputation. Prigozhin hoped for a high-profile victory in Bakhmut that would cement his political standing back home and also serve as an advertisement for potential international customers. But now that it looks like Bakhmut will be at best an embarrassment, and quite possibly a crushing defeat, he’s desperate for a face-saving way to disengage. Anything to make it look like it was the regular Russian army that screwed up, not the supposedly invincible sledgehammer SS larpers.
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Meanwhile there’s a school of thought which holds that Sergei Shoigu sent Wagner to Bakhmut as a way to destroy them.
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Song for the ages.
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That’s not my understanding. To my knowledge, Prigozhin is closer to Putin than much of the army. Prigozhin is criticising his peers, while careful never to criticise the man at the top. Putin without mercenaries is much more vulnerable to a coup.
EDIT:
Wasn’t aware of the ‘grandpa’ comment. That makes the situation a lot messier.
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Or not.
He also raised eyebrows last week by referring mockingly to a “happy grandpa,” which many assumed was a reference to Putin himself. This was clearly too much even for Prigozhin, who quickly released a new statement clarifying that the “grandpa” in question may have been a number of military leaders including chief of the Russian general staff Valery Gerasimov, but was most certainly not Putin.
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The rules are well established. Putin stays in power by constantly playing off the various factions under him against each-other. Only Putin is allowed to assassinate the faction leaders, so they’re careful not to cross him and stick to killing off the other teams’ underlings.
Modern Russia makes the Renaissance Italy of the Borgias look like a liberal democracy.
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Russian 4th Brigade serviceman Murz says Wagner transferred flanks in Bakhmut to the Russian Army in order to avoid humiliation of his PMC when these areas are liberated by Ukraine. He says Prigozhin is a great businessman and knows when to remove his forces, leaving the 4th Brigade to die. The 4th Brigade recently lost its commander and the chief of staff in combat.
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