The group’s founder, Yevgeni Prigozhin, enters into a new confrontation with the Russian government and military, pointing out that those who “interfere with our attempts to win the war are working for the enemy”.
The founder of the Wagner group, Yevgeni Prigozhin, denounced on Monday that senior officials of the Russian government are deliberately denying him the ammunition his mercenaries need to fight on the Ukrainian front. The former oligarch, a close friend of Vladimir Putin, lashes out at them, though he does not name them, going so far as to describe them as traitors. Prigozhin’s complaints reveal the tension between his office and the Defense Ministry, which has been aroused by the lucky soldiers’ victories in eastern Ukraine and especially in the siege of Bakhmut, in which they participate with thousands of troops.
Wagner’s boss reportedly broadcast audio from somewhere at the forefront of the fighting in which he urgently stated, “Those who interfere with our efforts to win the war are absolutely and directly working for the enemy.” “All I ask is that they give me ammunition!” he exclaims in his message, adding that the senior officials causing the apparent supply disruption are the same ones who “serve breakfast, lunch and dinner on golden plates “, in addition to sending their families on vacation to Dubai.
According to his version, his detractors have demanded that he “apologise and obey” to ensure the shipment of ammunition, which would support the claim that his rebellion on the battlefield has rapidly deteriorated his relations with the Kremlin. “Excuse me? To whom? 140 million Russians, please tell me who to apologize to so that my boys die twice less than now?” he asks in the audio, adding that Russia “has plenty of ammunition” to equip his troops. It is clear from his words that the members of the battalion suffer a large number of casualties and that the shortage of ammunition affects their siege of a city that the Ukrainians barely defend and from which 6,000 civilians have been evacuated.
The only thing that is still unknown is whether the distancing with the mercenary battalion also comes from the president himself. Some Western military sources say Putin is very angry with his former accomplice for the notoriety he gained during the war, although other analysts say he avoids confrontation with his defense minister and other cabinet members.
The president knows that this group, like Commander Kadyrov’s Chechen forces, is indispensable to him in the trenches beyond the alliances he has forged with their leaders over the years. The use of private agencies has been a constant, for example in Africa and the Syrian conflict. And while Wagner is the best known, Western experts believe there are at least a dozen private paramilitary companies in Russia. Putin has refused to legalize them as such, against the wishes of numerous deputies, in part to prevent the West from accusing the Kremlin of supporting terrorist groups. However, it has equated the subsidies of the families of the mercenaries sent to the Ukrainian front with those of the relatives of the Russian soldiers.
In fact, Wagner’s boss has been critical of the Russian General Staff as his presence has become more visible in the media and on social media. Thanks to the progress made at the front and especially achievements such as the recent capture of Soledar or the damage to the Ukrainian lines around Bakhmut, Prigozhin’s popularity has increased among the most nationalistic sectors and those in favor of a special strategy. in the neighboring country. Growing personal autonomy from the Kremlin also went hand in hand with the apparent prosperity of their businesses. Following the inauguration of Wagner’s new headquarters in St. Petersburg, the founder has announced his intention to delve into disinformation and the internet.
The friction has been constant for weeks. As a result of the fall of Soledar, the private company and the Russian General Staff disputed the triumph of the conquest and from then on senior defense officials have called on their related media to shrink the space for the mercenaries’ achievements. Prigozhin also lashed out against the army’s “monstrous bureaucracy” a few days ago, which he says is hampering the offensive.
Paradoxically, the Russian army and the mercenaries on the ground have so far fought side by side, although their methods differ. Prigozhin has been heaped with harsh criticism and accusations, such as showing extreme brutality for sending prisoners taken out of prison to fight, with no preparation or hardly any weapons, only for the supposed purpose of being murdered to break the positions of Ukrainian gunmen to reveal. . He claims that the Ministry of Defense intends to take any victory from him and ensure that only his men fight in Bakhmut, as most of the Russian units remain in the background.
The ex-oligarch has a key ally in Chechen Republic leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who has pointed out that the Wagner Group has achieved “impressive results” in this war and added that private military companies are needed. Kadyrov, head of the brutal forces fighting alongside Russia, has announced that “when I finish my service to the state, I seriously intend to compete with our dear brother Yevgeny Prigozhin and create a private military company.” His words alarm allies in the West, convinced that mercenary companies could even threaten the stability of the Kremlin in the future.
Source: La Verdad
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