Milícia complains that material about the war was not delivered to their mercenaries; deny military
YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP
The head of Russia’s paramilitary group, Wagner, accused his country’s general staff of “treason” by refusing to provide material to his frontline mercenaries Ukrainea, something the army denied. The comments by militia chief Yevgeny Prigozhin further strained the already tense relations between the two Wagner group and the russian army. Tensions have risen in recent weeks over the Battle of Bakhmut in the east, where the longest fighting since the Russian offensive began nearly a year ago. Both the Army and the Wagner Group claimed advances around this city, and at times contradicted each other.
“The Chief of the General Staff and the Minister of Defense everywhere give orders not only not to supply ammunition to the Wagner paramilitary group, but also not to help with air transport,” Prigozhin criticized in an audio message on Telegram. “There is a frontal opposition that is nothing other than an attempt to destroy Wagner. It can be equated with treason at a time when Wagner is fighting for it [conquistar] Bakhmut and suffer hundreds of casualties every day,” he added.
Russia’s Defense Ministry responded in a statement Tuesday with a detailed list of stockpiles of ammunition handed over to Russian “volunteers,” as the Wagner group is known. “All ammunition orders for attacking units will be delivered as soon as possible,” added the ministry, which pledged supplies on Saturday and denounced it was “absolutely wrong” that supplies were running low. The ministry once again praised the “courage” and “selflessness” of the “voluntary” Russian fighters and criticized the “partition intentions” which are “counterproductive and only help the enemy”. The tensions between the two illustrate the difficulties faced by Russian forces on the ground, just days before the first anniversary of Moscow’s troop invasion of Ukraine.
*With information from AFP