“We have been promised as much ammunition and weapons as necessary for the continuation of the fighting,” said Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, on Sunday on his press service’s Telegram channel. He would also be assured that Wagner’s flank would be protected and his units would therefore not be trapped. There is no comment from Moscow.
The coordination of the mercenaries with the regular units is in charge of General Sergei Surovikin, or in Prigozhin’s words the “only man who understands combat”.
In the past, Prigozhin had repeatedly held the Russian defense ministry responsible for Wagner’s heavy losses in Bachmut. According to him, the shortages of artillery ammunition led to five times more losses than necessary. He had therefore announced the withdrawal of his troops from 10 May. He justified the decision that his troops were in danger of becoming exhausted. He claimed that 50,000 Ukrainians were killed in the battle for Bachmut, but at the same time acknowledged that his side suffered “tens of thousands” killed and wounded.
Prigozhin, like Soerovikin and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov – whose units would take over Wagner’s positions in Bachmut – are hardliners in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
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