UK: Russia's defense ministry, Wagner at odds
The United Kingdom's Defence Ministry stated in its daily update on the conflict in Ukraine issued on Friday that the latest evidence points out "significant tensions" between its Russian counterpart department and the paramilitary Wagner group that are "played out in public."
The British ministry said the aforementioned "competition between factions in the Russian elite is likely to be partially responsible for the reduced supply of convicts." It also noted that the information recently shared by the Russian Federal Penal Service (FSIN) reveals there are 6,000 fewer inmates now in prisons than in November 2022, which reveals Moscow has been recruiting prisoners for fighting in Ukraine.
Recently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that Russia is trying to drag out the conflict to exhaust his country's defense and stressed the importance of having enough weapons to resist any future attacks.