Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin threatened to pull out his mercenary fighters from the frontlines by Wednesday if the Russian military doesn’t give them ammunition for the fight in Ukraine.
In a video address, Prigozhin gave the Russian Ministry of Defense until May 10 to address his grievances; otherwise, he would pull his forces back and leave it to the Russian military to deal with the Ukrainian military.
The Grievances
In uniform and wearing a complete combat loadout, including an AK rifle, Prigozhin stood in front of a group of Wagner fighters and attacked the Russian military and its leadership.
“I appeal personally and on behalf of the Wagner private military company commanders’ council. On behalf of Wagner fighters, I appeal to the head of the [Russian] General Staff [General Valery Gerasimov], the Minister of Defence [Sergei Shoigu], the Commander-in-Chief [President Vladimir Putin], and to the people of Russia,” Prigozhin said in a video from the frontlines.
Prigozhin went on to say that his Wagner mercenaries were asked to help the Russian military’s offensive operations because it wasn’t going according to plan.
The mercenary leader revealed that he had to pull Wagner Group fighters from Africa to help with the fighting in the Donbas.
“On March 19 [2022], the units arrived from Africa, fully equipped, and entered the fight from the get-go. We went straight to the most difficult areas,” Prigozhin said.
The private military company has a large presence in Africa, especially in Libya, Mozambique, Mali, and the Central African Republic (CAR).
“In order to save the army, which ran with shame from Izium, Kransy, and Lyman, we took a frontline over 130 kilometers long and held off the enemy onslaught,” Prigozhin added.
The Wagner leader went on to describe how his fighters relieved the Russian military and took charge of the operation to capture the town of Bakhmut in the Donbas.
By that point, the Kremlin had given Wagner Group the green light to recruit from Russia’s vast and overpopulated prison colonies. Western intelligence estimates assess that the private military company recruited more than 40,000 prisoners to fight in Ukraine. In exchange for a contract service of six months, the convicts were promised their freedom.
“We are receiving no more than 30 percent of our needs, which is why our losses were much higher than they were supposed to be. A month ago, they stopped giving us ammo, and we received no more than 10 percent. We were planning to capture Bakhmut by May 9.” Prigozhin added.
The Wagner leader added that his forces would withdraw from Bakhmut if they weren’t properly resupplied by May 10.
Wagner Group Casualties
The private military company has been taking hefty casualties.
The latest U.S. intelligence assessment estimates that the Russian forces have suffered approximately 20,000 killed and 80,000 wounded since December; more than half of these casualties are Wagner Group fighters.
To be sure, the leadership of the mercenary company is to blame for the high rate of casualties.
Indeed, Wagner Group commanders don’t care about their fighters and use World War One infantry charges to overwhelm the Ukrainian positions.
In addition, they execute their troops if they retreat without permission.
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A 19FortyFive Defense and National Security Columnist, Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate. His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
