Is this the real reason for Prigozhin’s anger?

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“Where’s my ammunition?!” This week, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigoshin (61), broke his collar. He first insulted Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (67) and the commander of Russian troops, Valery Gerasimov (67), in a video, then later announced the withdrawal of his troops from the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

According to the experts of the American think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the series of anger videos, in which the Russian military leadership in particular gets their money’s worth, point to one thing: the Russian Defense Ministry sees the capture of Bakhmut as the final goal. It is now more important to prepare for the upcoming Ukrainian counter-offensive.

“Scum” Shoigu and Gerasimov

Prigozhin’s mercenaries play a key role in the battle for the eastern industrial city of Ukraine. The Wagner boss has been embroiled in a public power struggle with the Russian military leadership for months. At the same time, he repeatedly emphasizes the successes of his troupe in Ukraine.

In his last public rant, he called Shoigu and Gerasimov “scum” and accused them of withholding ammunition from the Wagner fighters. In a clip published Friday, Prigozhin also said he would withdraw his mercenaries from the embattled city on May 10 unless Moscow provided the mercenaries with additional military aid. Without ammunition, his troops are “doomed to senseless death,” the mercenary leader claimed.

“Prigozhin’s palpable desperation in the videos, one of which shows the bodies of recently deceased Wagner fighters, marks a major turn in his continued plea for greater Russian Defense Ministry support for Wagner in Bakhmut,” the ISW writes. “His visible anger suggests that Russia’s Defense Ministry has likely downgraded Bakhmut and shifted operational focus to other posts that could seriously impair Wagner’s ability to operate effectively,” the experts said.

Heavy losses in Bakhmut

According to the ISW, despite the ammunition dispute, Prigozhin had not shown any willingness to withdraw from his efforts to capture Bakhmut. According to the think tank, as Russian troops make progress in the area, progress is starting to slow down.

The battle for Bakhmut resulted in heavy losses on the Russian and Ukrainian sides, especially among the Wagner forces. The ISW summarized in its Friday situation report that the “losses Wagner suffered at Bakhmut, together with the probable downgrading of the Bakhmut effort by the Russian Defense Ministry, could put Prigozhin and Wagner in a particularly bad position.” Provided he remains so stubborn on this point.

Source: Blick