Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin ‘more dangerous’ than Putin

Members of Congress ripped Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin Saturday as a “would-be strongman” — with some claiming the “bloodthirsty” mercenary was possible “more dangerous” than Vladimir Putin.

“Prigozhin is nobody’s friend and not less dangerous than Putin (and potentially more dangerous),” tweeted Rep. Jason Crow (D-Co.). “This will almost certainly benefit the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the near term and should move fast to capitalize.”

Texas Democrat Rep. Joaquin Castro went further, calling Prigozhin “a ruthless, bloodthirsty mercenary who is as bad as, arguably worse than, Putin.”

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ak.) portrayed Prigozhin as a “would-be strongman.”

“Neither Putin’s survival nor his fall would change our main interests which are deterring Russian aggression against NATO allies and helping Ukraine recover territory lost to Russia,” said Cotton.

Long Island GOP Rep. Nick LaLota added: “The Wagner Group & Yevgeny Prigozhin are not our allies”

On Friday, the Wagner Group — a mercenary force fighting for Russia in Ukraine — turned against the Kremlin, seizing the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and by Saturday afternoon was on the march toward Moscow. Vladimir Putin, Russia’s longtime strongman, has reportedly fled the capital.

New York GOP Rep. Lawler, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee told The Post “Vladimir Putin has employed the Wagner Group as paid mercenaries to do his dirty work for years, including in Ukraine. After a prolonged war, strategic differences, and catastrophic losses, now they’ve turned on him. Consider me shocked.”

Others suggested the internal strife could redound to Ukraine’s benefit.

“This is the clearest public confirmation of the folly of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. And remember: Wagner, a private military force, was brought into Ukraine & put on the frontlines because of the failures of Russia’s regular military,” said Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) in a lengthy Twitter thread Saturday.

“This isn’t just a problem for Putin inside Russia – it calls into question whether Russia can withstand Ukraine’s summer offensive. Wagner led some of the small military victories in Ukraine, so this is a chance for Ukraine’s forces to further liberate their land – stay tuned.”

Before entering Congress, Slotkin worked as a CIA analyst and was an Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense under former President Obama.

Michael McFaul, a former United States ambassador to Russia noted that “no matter how it ends, Prigozhin’s activities in the last 24 hours have weakened Putin. Anything that weakens Putin is good for Ukraine.”

“Our national security agencies are closely following the extraordinary internal conflict among Russian forces currently underway. No matter how this turns it is certain to have a significant and potentially historic impact,” added Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) late Friday evening.

Among 2024 presidential candidates, Vivek Ramaswamy said the Wagner rebellion was “one more piece of evidence that Russia is likely a paper tiger.”

The possible coup comes 15 months after President Biden called for regime change in Russia.

“For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Biden thundered in a fiery speech during a visit to Warsaw in March 2022.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment from The Post.

Adam Hodge, a rep for the National Security Council told Politico “We are monitoring the situation and are consulting with allies and partners on these developments.”