Russian mercenary leader threatens to pull forces from Bakhmut: ‘Lick our wounds’
Mike Brest
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The leader of a private Russian mercenary organization has threatened to withdraw his troops from the front lines of the war in Ukraine due to his escalating feud with Russian military leadership.
Yevgeny Prigozhin published a statement and video on Telegram on Friday, where he warned that he would be pulling the Wagner Group out of Bakhmut on May 10, the day after Russia’s celebrated Victory Day.
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“I declare on behalf of the Wagner fighters, on behalf of the Wagner command, that on May 10, 2023, we are obliged to transfer positions in the settlement of Bakhmut to units of the Defense Ministry and withdraw the remains of Wagner to logistics camps to lick our wounds,” Prigozhin said.
It’s unclear if he plans to abide by this decree.
Prigozhin has accused the Russian Ministry of Defense of intentionally withholding necessary ammunition and other resources from his forces, which are leading the front-line fighting in Bakhmut. His mercenary group, known for their brutality and their pillaging of African countries’ resources, was given the opportunity to lead the charge in Bakhmut after a series of embarrassing episodes by Russia’s military.
“I’m withdrawing Wagner PMC units because without ammunition, they are doomed to a senseless death,” he continued, adding that Wagner had fallen “out of favor with envious near-military bureaucrats.”
The Wagner Group leader reiterated that accusation on Thursday in a separate post on social media where he stood next to a group of dead soldiers and declared the ministry was responsible for their deaths due to the lack of support.
“We are lacking 70% of the needed ammunition!” he said. “The blood is still fresh. They came here as volunteers and are dying so you can sit like fat cats in your luxury offices.”
“Shoigu, Gerasimov,” Prigozhin added, referencing Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the Russian Armed Forces Gen. Valery Gerasimov. “These are, these are somebody’s [expletive] fathers and somebody’s sons. And those [expletive] who don’t give us ammunition will be in hell eating their guts.”
In February, Prigozhin accused Shoigu and Gerasimov of “treason.”
According to U.S. estimates, Wagner deployed roughly 50,000 fighters in Ukraine, many of them being Russian prisoners who were offered pardons in return for fighting in the war.
The White House revealed this week that Russia had amassed approximately 100,000 casualties in Bakhmut since December, 20,000 of whom were killed in action. Nearly half of the soldiers who were killed were mercenaries.
“Just since December, we estimated that Russia has suffered more than 100,000 casualties, including over 20,000 killed in action, nearly half of whom were Wagner soldiers, the majority of whom were Russian convicts that were thrown into combat embarking without sufficient combat or combat training,” National Security Council coordinator John Kirby told reporters on Monday.
“The bottom line is that Russia’s attempted offensive has backfired. After months of fighting and extraordinary losses, Russia continues to be focused on a single Ukrainian city with limited strategic value. Ukraine’s armed forces are defending the territory bravely and effectively and making Russia expend enormous resources for marginal gains,” he added.
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This seemingly escalating feud between Prigozhin and Russian military leadership comes weeks ahead of Ukraine’s highly anticipated counteroffensive, where they will attempt to liberate Ukrainian land occupied by Russian forces. Ukraine’s Western allies have provided them with billions of dollars of military assistance for the counterattack, though not every single Ukrainian request has been met.
Both sides have conducted attacks away from the front lines of the war this week.