Russian Officials Deliberately Not Providing Enough Ammo For Their Members, Wagner Boss: Attempt To Interrupt War's Victory

Illustration of Wagner Group headquarter (Twitter/@Archer83Able)

JAKARTA - Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Russian mercenary group, Wagner Group, has accused unnamed officials of deliberately not providing enough ammunition to his fighters, as part of an ongoing rivalry between himself and some of the Russian elite.

Prigozhin, a former caterer who once avoided the public eye, has taken a more public role in Russian politics since the start of the war in Ukraine a year ago, with his Wagner Group spearheading Russia's months-long battle to capture the town of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region of Ukraine.

In a seven-minute audio message published Monday by his press service, a visibly angry and emotional Prigozhin said he was required to "apologize and obey" in order to secure ammunition for his troops.

He spoke in a high voice and occasionally cursed: "I couldn't solve this problem despite all the connections and contacts I have."

Prigozhin said that Russia's military production is now sufficient to supply troops fighting on the front lines, and that the supply difficulties its fighters are experiencing are the result of a conscious decision.

"Those who interfere with us in trying to win this war are actually working directly for the enemy," he said, quoted by Reuters on February 21.

Since the outbreak of the conflict, Prigozhin has publicly feuded with Kremlin generals and officials, accusing them of not having enough zeal to mount an attack on Kyiv.

His strongest criticism was of the Russian Defense Ministry, which he accused of trying to take credit for Wagner's accomplishments on the battlefield.

In his audio message, Prigozhin said the unnamed men whom he blamed for the lack of ammunition were "eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner on gold plates" and sending their families on holiday to Dubai, a popular destination for Russia's elite.

Separately, Prigozhin's press service said in a post on Monday, the Wagner Group was having difficulty placing a television advertisement to recruit volunteers in the Ukrainian conflict, calling on national and regional TV channels and advertising agencies to support its recruitment campaign.

Separately, the White House said last week, the Wagner Group has suffered more than 30,000 casualties since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with about 9,000 of them killed in action.

About 90 percent of those killed in Ukraine since December were convicts, he said, referring to Prigozhin's recruitment of prisoners to fight.