After threatening to withdraw his troops from Bakhmut, the head of Russia’s Wagner Group reports that Moscow has consented to his request for additional ammunition.
Thursday, Yevgeny Prigozhin attacked his Russian partners in a gruesome, profanity-laced tirade that was videotaped among the corpses of dozens of Wagner troops.
The following day, he stated that Wagner combatants would depart Bakhmut by May 10th.
However, Prigozhin announced on Sunday that Moscow had agreed to provide the supplies “needed to continue fighting” in the city.
The apparent U-turn by Prigozhin is not a major shock. He is an attention-seeker who has not carried out previous threats.
Despite its dubious strategic value, Russian troops and fighters from the private military company Wagner have been attempting to capture Bakhmut for months.
Officials from the West believe that thousands of Russian and Nazi troops perished in the combat, and the eastern Ukrainian city has become a symbol of victory.
Despite the fact that Russian military and Wagner fighters are on the same side, their alliance is uneasy.
Prigozhin has frequently criticised Russian officials for what he perceives as inadequate support for the front lines.
Prigozhin claimed in a new statement that Gen. Sergei Surovikin, who commanded Russia’s forces in Ukraine between October and January, had been designated as a liaison between Russia’s regular military and Wagner mercenaries.
“This is the only man with a general’s star who knows how to fight,” said Prigozhin. “No other army general is reasonable.”
While Prigozhin did not explicitly renege on his promise to withdraw troops from Bakhmut, he did state that his forces had been granted permission to “act in Bakhmut as we see fit,” suggesting they will remain.
The Kremlin has not commented on the latest statement by Prigozhin.
Wagner has its own commanders, goals, and motivations, and it is widely believed that Prigozhin has his own domestic political ambitions.
Vladimir Putin’s anger has frequently been directed at Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, amid allegations of infighting between various power groups in his entourage.
In his Thursday statement, Prigozhin exploded: “Shoigu! Gerasimov! Where are the… bullets?They came here as volunteers and will perish so that you can get fat in your mahogany offices.”
And he stated that Wagner’s casualties were “growing daily in a geometric progression” due to a paucity of ammunition.
Ukrainian officials expressed scepticism at the time that Prigozhin intended to withdraw his forces from Bakhmut.
Friday, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar stated that Wagner was redeploying mercenaries towards Bakhmut in an attempt to capture the city prior to Russia’s Victory Day celebrations on Tuesday.
In other Ukraine and Russia-related news:
As Russia evacuated occupied towns near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power facility, there was “mad panic”
A pro-war Russian author whose car was blasted up by a car bomb has emerged from a coma.
Ukraine has accused Russia of bombing Bakhmut with white phosphorus.
