John Lechner

is kind of technically supposed to with his forces be subordinate but he also has a mind and ambition of his own and he can occasionally uh get in front of putin himself and you can imagine what he's saying about the people that he doesn't like in front of putin so you know imagine you know you're uh you're the boss of an employee but the employees that is the ceo right i mean you know that there's another channel

is kind of technically supposed to with his forces be subordinate but he also has a mind and ambition of his own and he can occasionally uh get in front of putin himself and you can imagine what he's saying about the people that he doesn't like in front of putin so you know imagine you know you're uh you're the boss of an employee but the employees that is the ceo right i mean you know that there's another channel

is kind of technically supposed to with his forces be subordinate but he also has a mind and ambition of his own and he can occasionally uh get in front of putin himself and you can imagine what he's saying about the people that he doesn't like in front of putin so you know imagine you know you're uh you're the boss of an employee but the employees that is the ceo right i mean you know that there's another channel

that goes up if you try to boss them around. And so even though the Ministry of Defense and Wagner are cooperating in Africa quite a bit, there's still that interpersonal tension. And so when Putin makes a decision to launch the full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022, he gives you know, the planning of it over to the general staff in the Ministry of Defense.

that goes up if you try to boss them around. And so even though the Ministry of Defense and Wagner are cooperating in Africa quite a bit, there's still that interpersonal tension. And so when Putin makes a decision to launch the full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022, he gives you know, the planning of it over to the general staff in the Ministry of Defense.

that goes up if you try to boss them around. And so even though the Ministry of Defense and Wagner are cooperating in Africa quite a bit, there's still that interpersonal tension. And so when Putin makes a decision to launch the full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022, he gives you know, the planning of it over to the general staff in the Ministry of Defense.

And they want nothing to do with Progozhin. And so, their thinking at the time is that this is going to be a quick, easy victory, and we can do it, kind of in their mind, by the book, without having to use guys like Progozhin. And so, in the initial month or so of the invasion, Wagner is actually left out. And Progozhin is pissed about it.

And they want nothing to do with Progozhin. And so, their thinking at the time is that this is going to be a quick, easy victory, and we can do it, kind of in their mind, by the book, without having to use guys like Progozhin. And so, in the initial month or so of the invasion, Wagner is actually left out. And Progozhin is pissed about it.

And they want nothing to do with Progozhin. And so, their thinking at the time is that this is going to be a quick, easy victory, and we can do it, kind of in their mind, by the book, without having to use guys like Progozhin. And so, in the initial month or so of the invasion, Wagner is actually left out. And Progozhin is pissed about it.

He's calling up the guys in the GRU, trying to figure out why his guys aren't in it, and then trying to get his guys into it. And meanwhile, the very quick operation to take Kyiv does not go as planned. And the Russian military is suffering setbacks. And so Progozhin now has his opportunity to get his guys into the war.

He's calling up the guys in the GRU, trying to figure out why his guys aren't in it, and then trying to get his guys into it. And meanwhile, the very quick operation to take Kyiv does not go as planned. And the Russian military is suffering setbacks. And so Progozhin now has his opportunity to get his guys into the war.

He's calling up the guys in the GRU, trying to figure out why his guys aren't in it, and then trying to get his guys into it. And meanwhile, the very quick operation to take Kyiv does not go as planned. And the Russian military is suffering setbacks. And so Progozhin now has his opportunity to get his guys into the war.

The thing about Wagner that I think Murat would tell you too is that in the intervening years, really since Chechnya and a very brief war with Georgia, not a lot of guys in the Russian military have real battle experience. Not a lot of people have been shot at. when Wagner comes in with its commanders, they start delivering some quick battlefield victories.

The thing about Wagner that I think Murat would tell you too is that in the intervening years, really since Chechnya and a very brief war with Georgia, not a lot of guys in the Russian military have real battle experience. Not a lot of people have been shot at. when Wagner comes in with its commanders, they start delivering some quick battlefield victories.

The thing about Wagner that I think Murat would tell you too is that in the intervening years, really since Chechnya and a very brief war with Georgia, not a lot of guys in the Russian military have real battle experience. Not a lot of people have been shot at. when Wagner comes in with its commanders, they start delivering some quick battlefield victories.

And so this puts Progozhin all of a sudden in this great position. He's able to come out of the shadows and he becomes a hero of Russia. He declares himself... Oh, he denied it always that he was... tied to Wagner Group, now he declares, I was always the founder of Wagner, and he's on state television. And as Murat said, this is a guy who already has a big ego, right?

And so this puts Progozhin all of a sudden in this great position. He's able to come out of the shadows and he becomes a hero of Russia. He declares himself... Oh, he denied it always that he was... tied to Wagner Group, now he declares, I was always the founder of Wagner, and he's on state television. And as Murat said, this is a guy who already has a big ego, right?

And so this puts Progozhin all of a sudden in this great position. He's able to come out of the shadows and he becomes a hero of Russia. He declares himself... Oh, he denied it always that he was... tied to Wagner Group, now he declares, I was always the founder of Wagner, and he's on state television. And as Murat said, this is a guy who already has a big ego, right?

And the way that he always gets around his rivals is by gambling big, like at Hacham. And so he starts also promising things that he's going to do, something that the generals would never do. And ultimately, what he ends up promising is that he's going to, basically, Wagner is going to take Bakhmut, this kind of middle-sized city, from Ukrainian forces.

And the way that he always gets around his rivals is by gambling big, like at Hacham. And so he starts also promising things that he's going to do, something that the generals would never do. And ultimately, what he ends up promising is that he's going to, basically, Wagner is going to take Bakhmut, this kind of middle-sized city, from Ukrainian forces.