The founder of Russia’s Wagner group of mercenaries, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has warned that the entire frontline in Ukraine could collapse, and Russia could lose the war if his troops in the city of Bakhmut don’t receive more ammunition.
Prigozhin claims his troops are the ‘cement’ holding the frontline together and are the last line of defence to prevent a Ukrainian victory. He added that if the Wagner group retreats, the front will crumble, potentially up to the Russian borders. In a four-minute video published by a Wagner-linked Telegram channel, he made these remarks.
Prigozhin accused Russia’s defence chiefs and top generals of ‘treason’ last month for withholding munitions to his militia. In his latest video, he claims his troops are worried that Moscow will set them up as possible scapegoats if Russia loses the war.
Since the demotion of Sergei Surovikin, an army general close to Prigozhin who was previously in command of Russia’s armed forces, Wagner has found itself starved of ammunition and support. It has prompted suspicions that Russia’s military commanders Valery Gerasimov and Shoigu are isolating the mercenaries, condemning them to fail while masking their army’s poor performance.
The Wagner group has been instrumental in Russian military success in eastern Ukraine, launching a mass recruitment drive in Russian prisons last year.
The group used human wave tactics, piling in underequipped and undertrained men to soak up Ukrainian resources before deploying better-armed and trained mercenaries to break down Ukraine’s fatigued fighters. However, Prigozhin complained that most of the ammunition Moscow promised his forces in February had not yet been shipped.
The British Ministry of Defence intelligence update claimed that Russia now deploys 60-year-old armoured vehicles to the frontlines in the face of heavy losses. These vintage vehicles will present many vulnerabilities on the battlefield, including the absence of modern explosive reactive armour. In Ukraine, the exiled mayor of Melitopol claimed that a Ukrainian attack on a pair of Russian military bases likely killed scores of Putin’s troops.
In conclusion, Prigozhin’s warning highlights the dire situation for Russian-backed forces in Ukraine. His remarks suggest that the Wagner group is in a precarious position, given the lack of ammunition and support from Moscow. The deployment of vintage armoured vehicles indicates Russia’s desperation on the frontlines.
»Yevgeny Prigozhin warns that the entire frontline in Ukraine could collapse«
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