Wagner's chief says his army isn't strong enough to topple Putin, responding to rumors he is planning a coup: report

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group military company, on April 8, 2023. AP Photo

• Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin denied planning a coup. 
• Kremlin ally Igor Girkin had claimed that Prigozhin may be preparing to topple Vladimir Putin. 
• Prigozhin's forces have played a key role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

Yevgeny Prigozhin, commander of the Wagner mercenary army, has denied claims that he is planning a military coup against Russia's President Vladimir Putin, according to a report.

The Wagner chief, known as "Putin's chef", argued that his Wagner army is not large enough to start a mutiny, a report by Washington, DC, think tank The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said.

Prigozhin instead implied that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu could stage a coup because he has access to the Russian Special Forces, the ISW added. 

Wagner, Prigozhin said on Telegram, simply wants reforms in Russia, according to the report. 

Prigozhin's comments come after Igor Girkin, a former commander of separatist militants in east Ukraine, accused the Wagner founder of stirring unrest in a video Saturday.

Girkin said insults Prigozhin has made about top Russian officials in expletive filled videos indicate he is planning to seize power. 

"A coup attempt has been declared...What will happen next, I don't know, especially as Wagner is urgently withdrawn to rear bases...The danger of a looming coup is clear," said Girkin, Insider reported. 

As top Russian and Kremlin allies officials jostle for position amid the chaotic fallout of the war, Girkin has issued a series of warnings about the perilous state of Russian society and recently set up a pro-war party, The Club of Angry Patriots, aimed at bolstering Putin's power, reported Reuters.

US officials estimate that Wagner has about 50,000 soldiers fighting in Ukraine.

More than 30,000 Wagner fighters, often regarded as Putin's de facto private army, have been killed or injured since the invasion of Ukraine began, according to US officials. 

Prigozhin has previously accused Russian military leaders, including Shoigu, of failing to back his forces. Some of his remarks were interpreted as a direct criticism of Putin himself, prompting questions about his loyalty.

Mark Galeotti, a Russian security expert and honorary professor at the University College London's School of Slavonic and East European Studies, recently wrote in The Spectator that Putin has long encouraged brutal competition among his aides. 

"A culture of mutual suspicion, cannibalistic competition and opportunistic self-interest has kept Putin in power for more than two decades," Galeotti wrote, but warned the method is risky in wartime when "the need is for unity, discipline and mutual support."

Last week, Russia declared victory in the battle for Bakhmut and Prigozhin said his forces would be pulling back from the city on June 1.