Strong tensions within the Russian army and its reinforcements. The boss of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner on Wednesday urged the Russians to put pressure on the army to provide ammunition to his men, an unprecedented call which illustrates the extent of the tensions between the mercenaries and the Russian general staff.
“If every Russian at his level – to (avoid) calling anyone to protest – just said ‘give Wagner shells’ […] then that would already matter,” the businessman said. Evgueni Prigojine in a sound recording released by his press service. This call is unprecedented in Russia, where even individual criticism of the Kremlin or the army is harshly repressed.
Yevgueni Prigojine has been accusing the Russian high command for several days of not providing ammunition to his men who are on the front line in the battle for the city of Bakhmout, in eastern Ukraine.
“If the driver tells his boss to give shells to Wagner, if the flight attendant at boarding says to give shells to Wagner […], if the presenter says live to give shells to Wagner , we will break them and force them to stop doing anything, ”said Yevgeny Prigozhin, attacking the Russian military hierarchy.
“We will force them to give us shells,” he insisted. “Shells, there are. But you have to have politicians, bastards, garbage sign their names” for them to be delivered, Yevgeny Prigojine still carried away.
These statements mark a new escalation in the tensions between his Wagner group and the Russian army, in competition on the ground in Ukraine. Tensions have become increasingly visible in recent weeks as Russian forces attempt to seize Bakhmut, with the military and Wagner each claiming advances while at times contradicting each other.
On Tuesday, Yevgeny Prigozhin had already accused Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, two of President Vladimir Putin’s main power figures, of committing “treason” by not delivering the ammunition demanded by Wagner.
According to him, the goal is to let Wagner be “destroyed” on the battlefield. Yevgeny Prigozhin also claimed that his group suffered “hundreds of casualties” every day due to lack of ammunition.
The Russian Defense Ministry responded to the accusations on Tuesday with a statement detailing the number of ammunition it said was supplied to “volunteer assault squadrons”, a name the military appears to be using to refer to Wagner. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the conflict. In Russia, criticizing the Russian military is punishable by fifteen years in prison. Several opponents and anonymous people are imprisoned under this law.
Consult our file: War in Ukraine
