The boss of the notorious Wagner mercenary force has openly contradicted key aspects of the Kremlin's narrative about the Ukraine war, according to the US-based Insitute for the Study of War (ISW).
Ednews reports citing foreign media that Yevgeny Prigozhin denied claims Russia is fighting NATO and questioned whether there are actually Nazis in Ukraine.
The Kremlin has repeatedly justified its invasion of its neighbour as necessary to purge Kyiv of neo-Nazis, who threaten the peace and security of Russia, despite there being little evidence of this.
In parallel, it has increasingly pitched the war as an existential struggle against NATO, which they claim is butting up against Russia's borders.
Prigozhin said Moscow is fighting “exclusively with Ukrainians” equipped with NATO-provided equipment and some “Russophobic” mercenaries who voluntarily support Ukraine - but not NATO itself, said the ISW on Thursday.