Head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claims to have received promises for ammunition deliveries (symbolic image). © IMAGO/Konkord Company Press Service
For a long time there was fighting for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. After the Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin threatened to withdraw his troops, ammunition is now to come from Moscow after all.
Bakhmut - For months, a fierce battle between Russia and Ukraine raged in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Experts repeatedly noted that the city would not bring significant strategic advantages. Nevertheless, both Moscow and Kiev adhered to the battle for the city. On the Russian side, soldiers from the Wagner mercenary group, which acts as an extended arm of the Russian armed forces in the Ukraine war, fought on the ground.
Due to the long duration of the battles for the city, the two parties increasingly lacked the material to keep the fighting going. Recently, the head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, threatened to withdraw his troops from the city if Moscow did not continue to supply him with ammunition. Now Priogozhin claims to have received "a promise" for more ammunition from the Russian army.
Ukraine war: Prigozhin speaks of "promises" from Moscow
"They promised to give us all the ammunition and equipment we need to continue the actions," Prigozhin said in an audio message released by his press service on Sunday.
He had been assured "that everything necessary will be provided," the mercenary leader added.
Prigozhin had previously sharply criticized the Russian military commanders for the situation in Bakhmut and threatened to withdraw his fighters from there. The city is considered the epicenter of Ukraine's fight against Moscow's armed forces. According to the Wagner Group, the city has almost been taken.
Ukraine war: Prigozhin threatened several times with the withdrawal of his troops
While Prigozhin had threatened the withdrawal of his fighters several times in the past, the emotional choice of words and direct criticism of individual military leaders in the video message released on Friday were unprecedented. The Wagner fighters were threatened with a "senseless death due to lack of ammunition," Prigozhin explained. "On May 10, 2023, we will have to surrender our positions in Bakhmut to units of the Ministry of Defense, and withdraw Wagner units to lick our wounds."
On Sunday, the Wagner chief said that from now on General Sergei Surovikin would make "all decisions regarding Wagner's military actions in cooperation with the Minister of Defense." He is "the only person with general's stars in the army who knows how to fight," Prigozhin claimed.
Surovikin had been commander of Russian forces in Ukraine from October 2022 to January 2023. After the withdrawal of the Russian army from Kherson, he was replaced by Valery Gerasimov. The latter has often been criticized by Prigozhin in the past. (AFP/lp)
