In the latest development in the ongoing conflict between Russian and Ukrainian forces, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has accused a regular Russian military unit of abandoning its positions near the city of Bakhmut. The accusation came as Russia launched a new attack on Kyiv.
Prigozhin, who is also known as Putin’s chef due to his past lucrative catering contracts with the Kremlin, made the accusation on Tuesday. He alleged that the Russian Defense Ministry was “scheming all the time” instead of fighting, and that soldiers were abandoning their positions due to the “stupidity” of their commanders. He also claimed that the commanders were giving “criminal orders.”
“Soldiers should not die because of the absolute stupidity of their leadership,” Prigozhin said, adding that the Wagner mercenary group would withdraw from Bakhmut if Russia did not supply more ammunition soon. The group has been leading the assault on the city, which has been the center of fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces for months.
Russian authorities had committed to providing the Wagner Group with more ammunition after Prigozhin publicly criticized Russia’s military leadership in a confrontational video filmed while standing over the bodies of dead soldiers in Bakhmut. However, Prigozhin claimed that the ammunition had not been delivered.
Both Russian and Ukrainian forces have suffered severe casualties in the fighting in Bakhmut. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Russian forces had failed to capture the city before the May 9 Russian holiday that marks the Soviet Union’s World War II victory over Nazi Germany. A Ukrainian general had previously stated that Moscow was still hoping to capture Bakhmut before the holiday.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been ongoing since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea. Despite multiple attempts at a ceasefire, fighting has continued in the eastern Donbass region. The conflict has resulted in the deaths of thousands of people and displaced millions.
