Footage of Shoigu in Ukraine was a response to Prigozhin's visit

British intelligence officials believe that the publication of footage of the Russian Defense Minister's visit to Ukraine was a response to the trip of Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin to the front line.

According to Yevropeiska Pravda, this is stated in the intelligence review of the British Ministry of Defense on Wednesday.

According to the report, on March 4, 2023, the Russian Ministry of Defense published a video of a rare visit to Ukraine by Defense Minister Shoigu.

There is a real possibility that this was partly in response to recent footage of the owner of the Wagner group, Yevhen Prigozhin, visiting his soldiers at the front, intelligence officials say.

Wagner is in a high-profile dispute with the Russian Ministry of Defense, and Shoigu is likely sensitive to comparisons with Prigozhin, the British Ministry of Defense emphasizes.

The ministry noted that the only Russian field commander who appeared in the video with Shoigu was Colonel General Rustam Muradov. Muradov is responsible for the Vuhledar sector, where several assaults have failed over the past three months.

The British agency emphasized that until recently, the Russian command probably saw a breakthrough in the Vuhledar area as a key way to achieve an operationally significant breakthrough on the Ukrainian front line. Russian planners are likely facing a dilemma: whether to launch another assault on Vuhledar or to support intense fighting further north in the Bakhmut and Kreminna areas.

Author - Olena Madiak, 08/03/2023