Wagner Fighters Are Going To Leave Bakhmut?! (Video)
ISWNews Analysis Group – On May 5, head of the Wagner PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin declared that Wagner fighters will leave the city of Bakhmut on May 10 and will hand over control of their positions to the units of the Russian Ministry of Defence.
The reason of Prigozhin’s decision is the shell hunger which was artificially created by Russian military commanders responsible for the supply of ammunition to the front lines.
The video appeal was accompanied by the following message from Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Command and fighters of the Wagner PMC to the Chief of the General Staff, the Minister of Defense, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and the people of Russia.
“On May 10, 2023, we are forced to hand over positions in the village of Bakhmut to the units of the Ministry of Defense and withdraw the remnants of the Wagner PMC to the rear camps to lick wounds. I am withdrawing the units of the Wagner PMCs from Bakhmut, because due to the absence of ammunition they are doomed to senseless death,” the appeal says.
Evgeny Prigozhin has been constantly complaining on the lack of ammunition, blaming the Russian military command for complicating Wagner’s military operations.
In the recent days, Prigozhin has shared numerous appeals from the front lines, claiming that Wagner’s losses are growing.
Prigozhin’s decision to withdraw troops from Bakhmut led the public into confusion, and various experts gave different comments.
On the one hand, Prigozhin has always been responsible for his fighters and has always fought for their wellbeing and honor in various Russian institutions. The decision to leave Bakhmut may be the last call for military officials to fulfill the demands of the fighters.
His decision indicates a deep conflict between representatives of Russian elites, which may become the first stage of a major internal conflict in Russia.
On the other hand, some experts noted that the Wagner militants did not lose the military initiative on the streets of Bakhmut, despite the obstacles stated by the head of the PMCs. They suggested that the escalation of the public scandal between the Wagner PMC and the Russian Ministry of Defense may be a sophisticated media campaign aimed at drawing the Ukrainian military to the offensive in Bakhmut in order to destroy the Ukrainian military potential on the ruins of the war-torn city. The main argument is that such a loud statement was made just on the eve of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, which seems to be starting right now.
Source: SouthFront
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