Tensions rise as Kremlin factions and Chechen soldiers fuel conflict in Russia and Ukraine.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner mercenary group and a member of President Vladimir Putin's wider circle, has accused Kremlin factions of destroying the Russian state by trying to sow discord between him and Chechen fighters. Prigozhin said a dispute between him and Chechen forces had been resolved, but infighting in the Kremlin had opened a Pandora's Box of rifts. He also criticized the current state of the war and the culpability of Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.