Prigozhin claims Wagner PMC was promised ammunition and reinforcements
The founder of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who threatened the Russian military leadership to withdraw his units from Bakhmut on May 10, due to an ammunition shortage, said today that he was promised ammunition and weapons.
"They promise to give us ammunition and weapons as much as we need to continue further actions. They swear that they will put everything necessary on our flanks so that we are not cut off by the enemy. They gave us Surovikin as a person who will make all decisions together with the Defense Ministry regarding the actions of the Wagner PMC, "Prigozhin said in a video message published by his press service.
Russian General Sergei Surovikin, mentioned in Prigozhin's address, was appointed a commander of the Russian forces in Ukraine last fall and was removed from the post in January this year.
On May 5, the owner of Wagner said that his mercenaries would be withdrawn from Bakhmut on May 10 due to a lack of ammunition and because they were "doomed to senseless death", since the potential of his unit was exhausted and are 5 times less that the capabilities of the Ukrainian Forces.
In response Prigozhin's statement, Ukrainian intelligence said that Wagner was not going to leave Bakhmut.
Andriy Chernyak, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, said that Prigozhin made these statements because he cannot fulfill his promise - to capture Bakhmut before May 9. Therefore, he is now trying to make someone guilty of this, because he understands that he can no longer keep his word.
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar also expressed doubts about a potential withdrawal. According to her, Russia, on the contrary, was deploying Wagner mercenaries from other directions to Bakhmut, trying to completely capture the town before May 9.