Owner and leader of Russian mercenary company, the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has threatened to withdraw his men from the frontline city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine due to heavy losses.
On Thursday Prigozhin published a video on social media of himself standing in a field of the corpses of Wagner troops during which he blamed Russian Defense Minister Shoigu and Russian commander Gerasimov for the losses, claiming they were withholding artillery ammunition supplies from Wagner resulting in needless casualties. On Friday morning Prigozhin released a video announcing the withdrawal of his troops after May 9th if they do not receive adequate supplies of artillery ammunition, blaming the ministry of defense’s “petty jealousy” for the restricted supply.
The Wagner Group has led the Russian assault on the city of Bakhmut for months as intense fighting has turned the relatively unimportant town into a major battlefield of huge symbolic importance for both Russia and Ukraine.
Prigozhin’s threat comes after months of rising tensions the Russian ministry of defense and the Wagner Group which has seen attempts by Russia’s military establishment to sideline Prigozhin and his Wagner forces.
The battle for Bakhmut continues with Russia now controlling the majority of the city.