The head of Russian private military company, Wagner Group, has accused the Moscow’ military and chief of general staff of treason and said they were not supplying the ammunitions to soldiers on the war front.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of Wagner group, accused Russia’s defense minister and chief of general staff of starving his fighters in Ukraine of ammunition, which he charged amounts to an attempt to “destroy" the force.
Prigozhin, a millionaire with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has recruited soldiers from prisons in Russia and leading the fight in the city of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s east.
In an emotional audio statement released through his spokespeople, he decried “direct resistance” from the Russian military, “which is nothing other than an attempt to destroy Wagner."
Prigozhin said in a raised voice that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov are handing out orders not to supply the group with ammunition.
“(Moscow’s) chief of general staff and the defence minister give out orders left and right not only to not give ammunition to PMC Wagner, but also to not help it with air transport,” Prigozhin said.
“There is just direct opposition going on, which is nothing less than an attempt to destroy Wagner. This can be equated to high treason in the very moment when Wagner is fighting for Bakhmut, losing hundreds of its fighters every day,” Prigozhin added in a raised voice.
He also accused the military high command of prohibiting the delivery of shovels for Wagner fighters to dig trenches.
Prigozhin and his fighters have been alleging for weeks that the Russian military doesn’t provide them with enough ammunition, as Wagner’s push to take over Bakhmut stalled and turned into a grinding battle.
Russia’s defence ministry denied limiting ammunition delivery to soldier at the front without making a mention of the Wagner group or Prigozhin’s accusations.
“All requests for ammunition for assault units are met as soon as possible,” the defence ministry said, promising new deliveries on Saturday and denouncing as “absolutely false” reports of shortages.
This isn’t the first time that the Wagner chief has criticised the Russian military officials. Prigozhin has repeatedly criticized Russia’s top military brass in recent months and slammed the “monstrous bureaucracy” for slowing military gains. He also accused the Russian military of attempting to “steal” victories from Wagner.
He also has increasingly raised his public profile, issuing daily messaging app statements to boast about Wagner’s purported victories and sardonically mock his opponents.
His criticism, however, appears to have fallen on deaf ears. Last month, Putin reaffirmed his trust in Gerasimov by putting him in direct charge of the Russian forces in Ukraine, a move that some observers also interpreted as an attempt to cut Prigozhin down to size.
On Tuesday, in his long-anticipated state-of-the-nation address, Putin profusely thanked his military, but made no mention of Wagner.
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