A member of Vladimir Putin’s inner circle has voiced disagreement directly to the Russian president in recent weeks over his handling of the war in Ukraine, according to information obtained by U.S. intelligence. “Since the start of the occupation we have witnessed growing alarm from a number of Putin’s inner circle,” a Western intelligence official said. Yevgeniy Prigozhin, a longtime Putin ally whose Wagner mercenaries have also been fighting for Moscow in Ukraine, agreed with Kadyrov, describing Russian military leaders as “pieces of garbage” in a statement. “It seems to me his position is fragile,” one Russian official said of Putin in an interview on the day the mobilization was announced. If the Russian military doesn’t stem its losses, then infighting will break out, said one of these people, a member of the Russian business elite.
