Wagner boss says Russia is ‘unable to defend’ country and accuses troops of fleeing

Wagner boss Prigozhin says the Russian military is too ‘stupid’ to defend its own country (Picture: Reuters)

The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group has once again threatened to pull his men out of eastern Ukraine if they do not receive additional supplies.

Mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Tuesday he had been told he and his men would be regarded as traitors if they abandoned their positions in the city of Bakhmut.

Yet Prigozhin once again claimed his forces would leave Bakhmut in the coming days if they did not receive the ammunition they needed to press the battle.

Prigozhin, popularly known as ‘Putin’s chef’ because of the lucrative catering contracts he once held with the Kremlin, also poured scorn on the Russian Defense Ministry, who he accused of ‘scheming all the time’ instead of fighting.

Prigozhin threatened to pull his troops out of Bakhmut if they did not receive additional ammo (PIcture: AFP)

He said soldiers were abandoning their positions because of the ‘stupidity’ of Russian army commanders, who he said were giving ‘criminal orders.’

He delivered his latest tirade in a profanity-laced audio message which coincided with Russia marking the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two with its traditional parade on Moscow’s Red Square.

‘A combat order came yesterday which clearly stated that if we leave our positions (in Bakhmut), it will be regarded as treason against the motherland. That was the message to us,’ Prigozhin said.

‘(But) if there is no ammunition, then we will leave our positions and be the ones asking who is really betraying the Motherland. 

Apparently, the one (betraying the Motherland) is the person who signed it (the order to supply too little ammunition.”

He said his forces would stay in Bakhmut and keep insisting they get their ammo ‘for a few more days’.

Prigozhin has previously accused the defence ministry of deliberately starving his forces of ammunition. The ministry has said it is working to ensure all battlefield units have what they need.

Late on Monday, Prigozhin said there were signs the ammunition problem was being solved but on Tuesday he said the size of the shipment had been slashed.

‘They’ve given us only 10% of what we asked for. We’ve been deceived,’ he said.

Analysts have said his erratic behaviour looks like an attempt to try to deflect blame for a lack of swift success – the battle for Bakhmut is in its 10th month – and to spread disinformation.

Over 30,000 Russian troops are believed to have died in the invaders’ ongoing attempts to capture the small Ukranian city, which had a prewar population of just 70k.

Prigozhin claims Russian troops fled from their positions in Bakhmut (Picture: Reuters)

In a dig at the defence ministry, Prighozin – who says his men have taken control of 95% of Bakhmut – alleged that some regular troops had fled their positions nearby leaving Wagner’s flank temporarily uncovered, a problem he said his men had to remedy.

‘It is not a problem about the soldiers. The problem is to do with the people who manage them and give them tasks. The fish rots from the head,’ he said, calling the orders being given by what he called a narrow clique ‘criminal’ and ‘traitorous’.

His remarks come on the same day thousands of Russian troops took to the streets of Moscow as part of the country’s annual Victory Day parade, which commemorates the Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazi Germany in World War II.

Victory Day is the most significant day of Putin’s calendar, which he has long used to rally public support, demonstrate the country’s military prowess and rail against the historical injustices he perceives Western nations have heaped on his nation.

During his speech, Putin accused the west of ‘waging war’ against Russia and vowed to defend its annexed territories in the Donbass.

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Yevgeny Prigozhin has threatened to pull his troops out of Bakhmut despite claims he will be tried for treason if he does so.