The mood between Wagner boss Prigozhin and the Russian Ministry of Defense is tense. The founder of the mercenary group feels abandoned and publicly complains about alleged “high treason”. The Kremlin is trying to smooth things over.
The Russian army has denied allegations by the Wagner mercenary group that they were not being supplied with sufficient ammunition. “All demands for ammunition for assault units will be met as soon as possible,” the Defense Ministry said in Moscow. Reports that there are supply problems are “absolutely wrong”.
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin had previously accused the army general staff of “high treason” because they refused to provide equipment to the Wagner mercenaries fighting in Ukraine. “The chief of staff and the defense minister are issuing hell-bent orders not only not to give the Wagner paramilitary group any ammunition, but also not to support it with air transport,” Prigozhin said in an audio message published on Telegram.
The Ministry of Defense in Moscow not only rejected these allegations, it also distributed a list of ammunition that was said to have been delivered to the Wagner group. At the same time, it recognized the “courage” of Russian “volunteers” in combat and criticized “attempts to split”. These are “counterproductive and only play into the enemy’s hand”.
Prigozhin had repeatedly criticized the Russian army leadership in recent weeks. However, his direct attack on Chief of Staff Valeri Gerasimov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu represents a new level of escalation. Last week the Wagner boss blamed Russia’s “monstrous military bureaucracy” for the slow progress in the battle for the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.
The Wagner mercenary force has been leading the offensive against Bachmut for months and has suffered great losses in the process. In the past, Prigozhin had accused the Russian military of wanting to steal the “victories” from the Wagner Group.
