The Wagner militia claim to have captured a Russian lieutenant colonel accused of attacking the group of Russian fighters. This could well increase tensions between the militia and the Russian army.
Tensions between the Wagner private militia and the Russian army appear to be heating up. The head of the paramilitary group Yevgeny Prigoyine on Sunday evening, June 4, broadcast a video on the Telegram network showing the interrogation of Roman Vinevitenov, a lieutenant colonel in the Russian army. The person accused of laying mines on roads outside Bakhmout to trap Wagnera fighters was captured and interrogated. He acted out of a certain “personal animosity” towards the militia, he said.
PMC Wagner did not arrest and interrogate anyone except 72nd Brigade commander Roman Venevitin. Wagner and the 72nd Brigade shared their positions at Bachmut.
They arrested the man, beat him, broke his nose and forced him to record a video admitting to shooting at a PMC car… pic.twitter.com/BY3PhEV60q
— Dmitry (@wartranslated) June 4, 2023
“We found a dozen sites where various explosive devices had been planted, ranging from hundreds of anti-tank mines to tons of plastic explosives,” Evguéni Prigojine in particular accused in a press release translated by Le Monde on Saturday June 3rd. We can assume these explosives were intended to house Wagner’s units.” The militia leader claims his men “came under fire from Defense Ministry positions” as they cleared the path.
A possible reaction of the Russian army
This event will by no means improve relations between the Wagner militia and the Russian armed forces: “We might even expect a reaction from the Russian army,” said Sergei Jirnov, a former KGB spy and author of L’Gear, published by Albin Michel, with La Dépeche du Midi. The capture of a Russian lieutenant colonel is prohibited under Russian law.
Also read:
War in Ukraine: Rare fact: Russia admits the deaths of 71 of its soldiers in Ukrainian attacks
Yevgeny Prigoyine has been increasingly provocative and critical of the Russian army for several weeks. A month ago, the head of the militia accused the Russian authorities of providing less and less ammunition. “Prigojine has political ambitions, says the former KGB spy. He doesn’t want to be blamed for a war he knows is now lost. That is why he discredits the Russian armed forces.”
The Forbidden Legion “Freedom of Russia”* approached Yevgeny Prigozhin with a proposal to exchange prisoners for a lieutenant colonel in the RF Armed Forces
“PMC Wagner militants captured the commander of the 72nd Brigade of the RF Armed Forces, the… pic.twitter.com/aP1wDKCNmh
— Brainless partisans \ud83c\udff4\u2620\ufe0f\u2622\ufe0f\u2623\ufe0f? (@BPartisans) June 5, 2023
The tension is all the more palpable today as the men of the “Russian Freedom” legion – against the Russian invasion of Ukraine – now want to negotiate with the Wagner militia about exchanging the lieutenant colonel for captured Russian army soldiers. “It seems that the dispute between the PMC (private military company, ed.) Wagner and the Russian regular army is in full swing,” Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the Interior Minister of Ukraine, commented on the networks. I wonder if Prigozhin will pull through this time after leaking classified information about the incident and openly discrediting the Russian Defense Ministry.”