Wagner Group says Moscow has promised ammunition to fight Bakhmut

The leader of the Russian paramilitary group, Yevgueni Prigozhin, announced on Sunday that the Russian defense ministry promised arms and ammunition to continue fighting in Bakhmut after threatening to withdraw its mercenaries from the Ukrainian city.

“Tonight, for the first time, we received an order stating that we will receive the necessary weapons and ammunition to continue the combat actions,” Prigozhin said in an audio message broadcast on his Telegram channel, quoted by the EFE agency.

The leader of the Wagner group also expressed assurance that “everything will be done” so that “the Ukrainian enemy does not attack” and that the Wagner group “can act in Artiomovsk”. [nome russo para Bakhmut] whatever you think is appropriate”.

Prigozhin also stated that General Sergei Surovikin would be responsible for “making decisions about Wagner’s combat actions and his communications with the Defense Ministry”.

The statements by the paramilitary group’s leader come after he asked the Russian army for permission on Saturday to hand over positions in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s forces in protest at the lack of ammunition.

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov on Friday expressed his willingness to replace the Wagner group in Bakhmut with his special forces forces.

Bakhmut, the scene of the longest and bloodiest battle of the war in Ukraine since August 2022, is currently the main target of the Russian military campaign.

So far, mercenaries and ex-convicts recruited by Prigozhin have taken over virtually the entire city, where Ukrainian defenders will control only 2.5 square kilometers.

Tensions between the paramilitary group and the Russian army have risen in recent weeks, with Prigozhin accusing the Russian General Staff of not supplying enough ammunition to the Wagner group to prevent a victory that would eclipse the country’s military .

In another video published early Friday, Prigozhin accused Russia’s defense minister and armed forces chief of staff of being responsible for the paramilitary group’s losses.

It is not the first time that Prigozhin has threatened to withdraw the Wagner group from Bakhmut due to a lack of ammunition.