“APOLOGISE AND OBEY”: WAGNER OWNER CLAIMS THE RUSSIAN MILITARY DENIED AMMUNITION TO MERCENARIES

Tue 21 February 2023:

In the ongoing conflict between himself and certain Russian elites, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the wealthy founder of the Wagner mercenary group in Russia, has accused unspecified officials of denying his men of enough ammo.

With his Wagner Group leading Russia’s months-long battle for the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk area, Prigozhin, a former chef who formerly shied away from the public eye, has taken on a more visible role in Russian politics since the start of the war in Ukraine a year ago.

In a seven-minute audio message published on Monday by his press service, an apparently angry and emotional Prigozhin said he was required to “apologise and obey” to secure ammunition for his fighters.

Speaking at times with a raised voice and occasionally swearing, he said: “I’m unable to solve this problem despite all my connections and contacts.”

Prigozhin said Russia’s military production was now sufficient to supply the forces fighting at the front and the supply difficulties his fighters were experiencing were the result of conscious decisions.

“Those who interfere with us trying to win this war are absolutely, directly working for the enemy,” he said.

In his audio message, Prigozhin said the unspecified individuals he blamed for the shortage of ammunition were “eating breakfast, lunch and dinner off golden plates” and sending their relatives on holiday to Dubai, a popular destination for the Russian elite.

Prigozhin has been one of Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu’s most fiery critics, insisting that his own men are far more effective than the regular army.

Prigozhin has refrained from making personal attacks in recent weeks after apparently receiving a request to stop from the Kremlin. The army’s top brass had previously been referred to as “bastards” who ought to be sent barefoot to the front with machine guns.

The Wagner Group has suffered more than 30,000 casualties—about 9,000 of which have been combat deaths—since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the White House reported last week.

According to the report, prisoners were recruited by Prigozhin, who claimed that almost 90% of those killed in Ukraine since December were prisoners.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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