Tensions have arisen between the Kremlin and the head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, as Putin takes sides in a dispute between Russian mercenaries and the defence ministry. Prigozhin has criticised the ministry’s officials and accused them of withholding ammunition. Putin has endorsed the defence ministry’s announcement that private military companies will have to sign contracts with it by 1 July, leaving Prigozhin in a precarious position as he has refused to sign such a contract. Prigozhin has become increasingly high-profile, but is only useful to Putin so long as he is for him.

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