Damning testimony against the upper echelons of the Russian army. The boss of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner on Tuesday (February 21st) accused his country’s general staff of committing “treason” by refusing, according to him, to provide equipment to his mercenaries, on the front line in the east of the Ukraine.
These statements by businessman Evgueni Prigojine mark an escalation in the tensions between his Wagner group and the Russian army, which appear to be in competition on the ground in Ukraine. Tensions have become increasingly visible in recent weeks as Russian forces attempt to seize the eastern city of Bakhmut, with the army and Wagner each claiming the advances while at times contradicting each other.
“The Chief of Staff and the Minister of Defense are handing out orders not only not to give ammunition to the paramilitary group Wagner but also not to help them with air transport,” said scolded Yevgeny Prigozhin in a voice recording published by his press service on Telegram.
“There is a frontal opposition, which is nothing less than an attempt to destroy Wagner. It can be likened to a betrayal of the fatherland, as Wagner fights for Bakhmut, suffering hundreds of casualties every day,” Yevgeny Prigozhin added. While the boss of the Wagner Group has repeatedly criticized the Russian high command in the past, this ad hominem attack on Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, two of Vladimir Putin’s main power figures , is clearly an escalation.
These tensions also illustrate the difficulties encountered by the Russian forces three days before the anniversary of the launch of the offensive against Ukraine, supposed to end quickly with the capture of kyiv and now bogged down. Wagner, who has recruited thousands of prisoners to fight in Ukraine, has led the assault on Bakhmout since the summer and recently captured a series of nearby settlements in an attempt to encircle the city.
On Tuesday, Yevgeny Prigozhin accused the high command of having even forbidden to deliver to Wagner fighters “shovels that allow them to dig trenches”. Neither the army nor the Ministry of Defense reacted immediately.
