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Sensing the changing mood, many left-wing parties and politicians in Moldova have begun criticizing the war and reversing their pro-Russian positions.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has turned life upside down for traditionally pro-Russian political parties in Moldova. Public calls for closer ties to Russia have become extremely rare, and there is emerging demand for politicians to represent the interests of the country’s Russian-speaking population without deferring to the Kremlin.

Russia’s ultra-patriots are not a cohesive force. They are a motley collection of amateur groups that coalesce around leaders who are ambitious, jealous, and incapable of working with each other.

The late mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was until recently considered a leading Russian politician—with some even believing he could be a rival to President Vladimir Putin himself. But the death of the Wagner army boss in highly suspicious circumstances last week has not sparked much public interest or outrage.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, flamboyant Russian warlord and head of the Wagner Group, was killed in his private plane on August 23, along with Wagner’s second-in-command, Colonel Dmitry Utkin, the chief of combat operations. The puzzle of how Prigozhin met his end—reports suggest an air-defense missile, a bomb, or even a problem with his plane’s mechanics—is less important than the path Wagner and Russia will take in the aftermath of his death. This special edition of Hudson Institute’s Ukraine Military Situation Report by Senior Fellow Can Kasapoǧlu will focus on how Prigozhin’s death affects Wagner’s leadership, its mercenary business, and the role of private military companies within Russia.