Russia did not face an imminent security threat to justify its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Russia’s Wagner mercenary outfit, said in a bombshell video posted on social media Friday. “The Armed Forces of Ukraine were not going to attack Russia with the NATO bloc,” Prigozhin explained in the half-hour tirade released by his press service. “The Russian Defense Ministry is deceiving the public and the president,” he added.
One doesn’t preclude the other.
But since he thinks the war in Ukraine is unjustified, he would advise to stop it.
I think you are giving waaay too much credit. I would be very happy if that will be the case, but I think the “now we have this and we gotta finish it” narrative is more likely, unfortunately.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/23/wagner-chief-accuses-russias-military-of-attack-and-says-evil-leadership-must-be-stopped
Looks like Putin didn’t take the bait, and was pretty upset against Prigozhin.