Prigozhin vs. Gerasimov: Russia’s military elite boils Russia attacks southern and eastern Ukraine with kamikaze drones

In the video, the Wagner mercenaries curse and insult the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Army, Valery Gerasimov, one of the most important figures in the Russian military, according to The Daily Beast.

The mercenaries feel left alone at the front near the hard-fought city of Bakhmut and accused Gerasimov of lack of support. He was a “damned bastard”, cursed one of the mercenaries over the high army. They would have nothing to fight against and would need much more support. “The guys are dying for us there, and we’re fucking sitting here and not helping,” says the mercenary. And further: «We are fighting against the entire Ukrainian army near Bakhmut. Where are you? It’s time you help us.”

The battle for Bachmut is considered particularly bitter. There are reports of heavy casualties on both the Ukrainian and Russian sides, and thus among the Wagner mercenaries.

According to The Daily Beast, Russian media initially reported that the soldiers in the video were Ukrainian fighters wearing Wagner uniforms and intended to use the statements to sow discord in Russian ranks. The head of the Wagner army, businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, took the wind out of the sails of this image.

In an audio message shared on his company’s official Telegram channel “Concord,” the 61-year-old responded to the video: “There are no Ukrainian nationalists in the video.” According to the translation of the American portal, the men are combatants under his command.

They had asked him to pass on the fact that it was difficult to fight at the front and carry dead bodies of their friends every day while others sat in hot offices and did not even support them with supplies.

Finally, the oligarch, known for his unscrupulousness, adds significantly: “As for the problems that unfortunately keep cropping up … we will solve them and force a solution.”

How exactly Prigozhin wants to force a solution is not clear. But the fact that he is so openly opposed to Gerasimov shows that there are great differences of opinion within the Russian military elite and that they are by no means unanimous on how to proceed in the war.