Yevgeny Prigozhin has repeatedly accused the Russian protection ministry of intentionally ravenous its fighters of munitions in what he referred to as a treasonous try and destroy the mercenary group.
The more and more vitriolic proprietor of the Russian mercenary agency the Wagner Group hit out at Russia’s navy elite by publishing a grim picture of dozens of his fighters he stated had been killed after being disadvantaged of ammunition whereas battling Ukrainian troops.
Yevgeny Prigozhin – founding father of the Wagner non-public navy firm that’s combating on Moscow’s behalf in Ukraine – took a bitter public feud with the highest military brass to a brand new stage on Wednesday with the grisly {photograph} of corpses piled highwhile laying blame for his or her deaths squarely with the highest military brass.
“This is among the locations the place the our bodies of those that have died are gathered,” Prigozhin informed a distinguished Russian navy blogger in an interview.
“These are guys who died yesterday due to so-called [artillery] ‘shell starvation’. Moms, wives and youngsters will get their our bodies. There ought to be 5 occasions much less [dead], Who’s responsible that they died? The responsible ones are those that ought to have resolved the query of us getting sufficient ammo.”
Wagner’s chief repeatedly accused the Russian protection ministry this week of intentionally ravenous its fighters of munitions in what he referred to as a treacherous try and destroy the mercenary group.
The protection ministry, in an announcement late on Tuesday, stated such allegations had been “fully unfaithful” and complained – with out mentioning Prigozhin by identify – about makes an attempt to create splits that labored “solely to the advantage of the enemy”.
Undeterred, Prigozhin doubled down on his allegations, taking the bizarre step of releasing the picture of dozens of his lifeless fighters laying prostrate on the icy floor in jap Ukraine, the place Wagner is battling to attempt to take the small Ukrainian metropolis of Bakhmut,
‘Nonetheless not giving us ammo’
In one other transfer prone to infuriate Russian navy leaders, Prigozhin launched a replica of what he stated was Wagner’s official request to the protection ministry for ammunition, with detailed tallies of shells used, requested and obtained – although he stated he blanked out delicate knowledge such because the names of the shells.
“They’re nonetheless not giving us ammo, No steps to offer us ammo have been taken,” stated Prigozhin, alleging Protection Minister Sergei Shoigu, an in depth ally of President Vladimir Putin, and Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the Normal Employees, had been withholding their signatures from shell approval types.
Neither man has publicly responded to Prigozhin’s criticism previously.
Prigozhin, a rich catering tycoon, has assumed a extra public position because the struggle began. However he has confronted pushback from the authorities in current weeks amid indicators of a transfer by the Kremlin and protection ministry to rein in his rising affect.
On Wednesday, he stated he launched a social media marketing campaign to attempt to safe artillery shells, including that Wagner had been decreased to begging navy warehouses for ammunition, which he stated was typically profitable.
Regardless of the purported scarcity, he stated his fighters would hold attempting to overrun Ukraine’s Bakhmut.
“Twice as many people are going to die that is all, till there are none of us left,” he stated. “And when Wagner are all lifeless then Shoigu and Gerasimov will most likely have to select up a gun.”
