You can find these videos online that offer a disorienting glimpse deep inside Russia's

war in Ukraine.

They're posted by a guy named Yevgeny Pregozhin, he leads the Wagner group, the mercenary

force that's been so key to Russia's relentless invasion.

In these videos, sometimes Pregozhin seems to be connecting via a phone line, other times

he's looking directly at a camera, but he's always intense.

Brian Taylor, who's an expert in Russian politics, he's been watching as one clip after

another make the rounds.

The frequency of Pregozhin videos increased around the Russian holiday of Victory Day, which

is May 9th, and I think most observers think that's because he had promised Vladimir Putin

that he would seize the Ukrainian town of Bakmut by Victory Day.

At the time, Victory was far from assured for Russia in Bakmut.

In other words, Pregozhin and his Wagner group, they were not delivering.

In one video, Pregozhin is surrounded by bodies, which he points out with a flashlight.

He yells into the camera, pinning these deaths on higher ups, demanding more weapons.

This was not the first time Pregozhin spoke his mind about how unprepared he felt to defend

Russia, but the gruesome theatrics he deployed here, they were meant to make a bigger point.

He films himself wearing military camouflage gear, he's with the troops, he's clearly trying

to draw a sharp contrast between his presence directly on the battlefield, his engagement

with his soldiers, and the leadership of the Ministry of Defense, which he frequently

attacks as being out of touch alitas who are damaging the war effort.

These posts defy the usual rules of military order.

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