Russia Denies Munitions Shortage Despite Frontline Rancor
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday appeared to push back against reports that Moscow lacks ammunition for the war in Ukraine.
"This year, [Russia's] Armed Forces have already received enough ammunition to inflict effective fire damage on the enemy," Shoigu said in a meeting with Russia's top military officials.
His remarks came after Wagner Group founder and financier Yevgeny Prigozhin's reiterated pleas for Russia's Defense Ministry to urgently deliver more ammunition. On Saturday, he threatened to pull his fighters out of the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine if the ministry failed to deliver more supplies "immediately."
Shoigu said Russia had taken the necessary steps to expand the production of weapons and military equipment for the supply of the country's forces in the war in Ukraine, which began after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of the neighboring country in February 2022.
Russian troop success on the frontlines would "largely depend on the timely replenishment of weapons" and other military equipment. "The country's leadership has set defense enterprises the task of increasing the pace and volume of production in a short time,"Shoigu said.
Prigozhin has repeatedly launched attacks at the Defense Ministry, saying that his fighters need more ammunition for its offensive in Bakhmut.
He previously accused the Russian government of lying about providing the Wagner Group with the ammunition it needs. In an audio clip posted to Telegram in February, Prigozhin accused Shoigu of attempting to "destroy" the Wagner Group by doing so.
"This can be equated to high treason," Prigozhin said at the time.
On Monday, Prigozhin said he was only getting a third of the artillery munitions his fighters needed.
Newsweek reached out to Russia's Defense Ministry via email for comment.
The British Ministry of Defence (MOD) said on Tuesday that Moscow's apparent lack of ammunition is deepening a rift between the Wagner Group and the Russian Defense Ministry.
"Paucity of ammunition drives internal divisions, most notably between Russia's Ministry of Defense and Wagner Group," the MOD said as part of its latest intelligence update on the conflict.
"While Russia's political leaders persist in demanding success on the battlefield, Russia's logistics professionals are stuck in the middle," it said, adding that logistics problems remain at the heart of Russia's "struggling campaign" in Ukraine.
"Russia does not have enough munitions to achieve success on the offensive," the MOD added.
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