Dhe head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigoschin, has announced that his troops will be withdrawing from the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, which has been the subject of fighting for months. “On May 10, 2023 we will hand over our positions in Bakhmut to units of the Ministry of Defense and Wagner units will have to withdraw to lick our wounds,” Prigozhin wrote on Friday in the online service Telegram. Because of the lack of ammunition, his fighters would otherwise have to reckon with a “senseless death”.
In doing so, Prigozhin has again intensified the conflict with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the military leadership, which has been smoldering for months. A video of Prigozhin was only published on Friday night, in which he railed against the military leadership in Moscow with serious insults. The video shows the 61-year-old in front of numerous bodies lined up in a meadow in the dark. “These are Wagner fighters who were killed today. The blood is still fresh,” said the visibly upset Prigozhin.
Then he addressed Russia’s Defense Minister Shoigu and Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov – and yelled into the camera: “Shoigu, Gerasimov, where the bloody shit is the ammunition?” , your kids enjoy life and record YouTube clips.” If his force had enough ammunition, the death toll would be five times lower, he claimed.
In the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, which has been going on for more than 14 months, Prigozhin’s mercenaries, who are notorious for their brutal actions, are currently fighting primarily for the city of Bakhmut. Against the background of the extremely costly battles, power struggles between the Wagner boss and Russia’s regular army are becoming more and more common. Prigozhin has repeatedly criticized the fact that his men are not being adequately cared for. At the weekend, the Wagner boss threatened to withdraw his troops.
Also on Thursday, nationalist Russian military bloggers reported that Mikhail Mizintsev, recently sacked as deputy defense minister, has been appointed deputy commander of the Wagner force. However, this has not yet been officially confirmed.
Comments are closed.