Wagner Group owner takes aim at Russian military leaders

The owner of Russian military contractor Wagner Group on Tuesday accused Russia’s Defense Minister and Chief of Staff of starving his troops in Ukraine without ammunition, which he said amounted to an attempt to “destroy “this strength.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, a millionaire with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said in an audio recording released by his spokespersons that the Russian military’s “direct resistance” “is nothing more than an attempt to destroy Wagner. “.

Statements by Prigozhin and his fighters highlighted long-running tensions between the Russian military and the Wagner Group, whose legal status is unclear because Russian law bans private military companies.

Prigozhin said Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov were giving orders ‘left and right’ not to supply Wagner with ammunition and not to support her with bridges aerial. The Russian private company was actively involved in heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine.

It “can be likened to high treason just as Wagner is fighting for Bakhmut, losing hundreds of his fighters every day,” Prigozhin explained.

His claims could not be independently verified.

In a statement, the Russian Defense Ministry rejected ‘strong claims’ that ammunition had been withheld for volunteers from ‘assault sub-units’ fighting around Bakhmuth, saying priority had been given to s to ensure that these groups were well equipped. The ministry did not identify the statements to which it was responding.

“Attempts to create a split in the mechanisms of cooperation and support between subdivisions of Russian forces are counterproductive and only benefit the enemy,” the ministry concluded.

The millionaire and his fighters have been denouncing for weeks that the army does not provide them with enough ammunition. The Wagner Group’s offensive to take control of Bakhmut, a town in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, has stalled and turned into a battle of attrition.

Prigozhin has also repeatedly criticized top Russian military commanders in recent months, accusing them of incompetence. Simultaneously, he issued daily statements bragging about Grupo Wagner’s alleged victories and mocking his opponents.

His criticisms, however, seem to have fallen on deaf ears. Putin last month reaffirmed his confidence in Gerasimov by placing him in direct command of Russian forces in Ukraine, a move some observers have also interpreted as an attempt to alienate Prigozhin.

In his long-awaited state of the nation address on Tuesday, Putin profusely thanked his military but made no mention of the Wagner Group.