Wagner chief shoots down Putin’s ‘disgrace’ army after Ukraine retakes Bakhmut territory
The head of the Wagner mercenary group has criticized Russian military leaders after Ukrainian forces succeeded in retaking settlements on the outskirts of Bakhmut.
Yevgeny Prigozhin said it was a “disgrace” that Kiev’s troops were able to push back Russian lines and take Berkhivka, a town on the northern outskirts of the embattled city.
Prigozhin’s Wagner group managed to snatch Bakhmut from Ukrainian hands last month after months of brutal fighting reminiscent of World War I trench warfare that left tens of thousands dead on both sides.
The mercenary figurehead lashed out at Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and army chief Valery Gerasimov, mocking them and urging them to go to the front lines and see the failures for themselves.
‘Now part of the settlement of [Berkhivka] is already lost, the troops are slowly falling back. What a shame!
“Shoigu, Gerasimov, I urge you to come forward, point your pistols at your men to make them advance. Come on, you can!
“And if you can’t, you’ll die heroes.”
Prigozhin’s latest tirade comes as his mercenaries capture a lieutenant colonel from Vladimir Putin’s regular troops in the latest example of bitter power struggle in Russian ranks.
The captured Colonel was seen hanging his head in a humiliating video posted by the Wagner group, in which he confessed his “guilt” and admitted to being drunk on duty after allegedly firing at a Wagner vehicle.
This follows claims by the mercenaries that the regular Russian army had been aiming mines at their ranks, as a clip showed their sappers removing the explosives from a road.
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has launched several verbal tirades against Putin’s military leaders. He has accused them of ordering their troops to withdraw from their positions and leaving the Wagner fighters unprotected on the front line
Mercenaries from Wagner’s private army film themselves demining mines on a road they claim was mined by regular Russian troops as the mercenaries returned from the front
A Ukrainian soldier fires a mortar at Russian positions on the frontline near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Monday, May 29, 2023
An aerial photo shows devastation in the frontline town of Bakhmut, amid the Russian assault on Ukraine, in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, in this handout photo released May 21, 2020
Wagner mercenaries have fought for Putin in Ukraine and are said to have taken the embattled city of Bakhmut from Ukrainian forces after months of bloody warfare.
But their success has seemingly angered mainstream Russian army commanders.
Wagner chief Prigozhin has launched several verbal diatribes against Putin’s military leaders. He has accused them of ordering their troops to withdraw from their positions, leaving the Wagner fighters unprotected on the front lines.
The captured soldier identified himself as Roman Venevitin, commander of the 72nd Russian Brigade.
Venevitin, who appeared to have a broken or injured nose, confessed that he “opened fire on a Wagner PMC [private military company] vehicle under the influence of alcohol’.
He did this out of “personal animosity,” he claimed.
The shooting damaged a Ural supply truck but did not injure any Wagner soldiers, the private army said.
Venevitin also confessed to leading a group of 10 to 12 Russian army soldiers who “disarmed” a rapid reaction group run by Wagner.
“Does personal hostility have any place in war at all?” an angry Wagner commander asked Venevitin.
“No,” the captured colonel replied sheepishly.
Wagner has a reputation for beating his own ‘traitors’ to death with a sledgehammer – but there is no suggestion that the Russian colonel will receive the same treatment.
A summary execution of a high-ranking Russian commander by Wagner forces would cause unprecedented chaos in the ranks of Moscow.
Founder of the private mercenary group Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin (right) speaks with military personnel during his troops’ withdrawal from Bakhmut and handover to regular Russian forces
A Ukrainian soldier fires a mortar at Russian positions on the frontline near Bakhmut
The Wagner group fights in Ukraine on behalf of Vladimir Putin, but the relationship between them and Putin’s regular troops is one of mutual hatred
The capture of Venevitin came hours after Wagner mercenaries were forced to clear a road of mines they believed had been laid by the regular army corps.
Prigozhin said the regular army laid hundreds of mines to ensnare Wagner’s forces as they retreated from Bakhmut after winning a rare victory for Putin in the war.
‘We discovered a dozen places where various explosives were lying, ranging from hundreds of anti-tank mines to tons [charges] of Zmey Gorynych self-propelled missiles,” Prigozhin said.
“Those who planted these allegations were representatives of the Department of Defense… These [explosive] charges did not need to be stacked to stop the enemy as they are in the rear area.
‘It can be assumed that they wanted to meet the advancing units of the Wagner PMC [Private Military Company] with these loads, even if we don’t walk in columns.’
It highlights the rift within the Kremlin’s armed forces fighting Ukraine, and some analysts see civil war in Russia as a possibility if Putin loses the war.
Despite massive casualties and a ban on recruiting prisoners from Russia’s penal colonies, Prigozhin is said to still have up to 60,000 men at his disposal.
Wagner is one of many private armies in Russia. Chechen warlord leader Ramzan Kadyrov himself heads a heavily armed group, and Russian energy giant Gazprom has set up its own private military company.