Yevgeny Prigozhin and Ramzan Kadyrov seem to be enjoying their status as vassals of Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin. Both warlords have recently distinguished themselves by deploying their troops to the front lines in Ukraine, in the spirit of the Moscow autocrat.
Prigozhin recently reported that at least 20,000 of his Wagner mercenaries were killed in the battle for the city of Bakhmut alone (according to experts, the real number is probably higher). But Wagner’s mercenaries are exhausted. A few days ago, the Islamic fighters of the Chechen dictator Kadyrov allegedly took Wagner’s positions.
As Kadyrov now announced in his Telegram channel, he and his troops had been ordered by the Kremlin not only to maintain the front line in the Donetsk region, but also to conduct offensive actions. Bakhmut is in Donetsk Oblast and Kadyrov wants it not to be the last city Russia will recapture in the region.
Kadyrov and Prigozhin have looked at each other suspiciously ever since Putin launched his illegal war of aggression in the neighboring country. The oligarch with his private Wagner army and the dictator from Grozny with his ‘Akhmat’ battalions (named after Kadyrov’s father) specially raised for the war in Ukraine, try to outdo each other by offering their services to Vladimir Putin offer.
The battle of words between the two warlords is currently intensifying again. In a video broadcast on his Telegram channel, Prigozhin doubted the skills of Kadyrov’s men, as reported by the independent Russian media portal “Meduza”. According to this statement, Prigozhin said he did not believe that the “Akhmat” battalions would be able to liberate the entire Donetsk People’s Republic supposedly by the Russian occupiers. A few cities at most.
This tip immediately called Adam Sultanovich Delimkhanov, a confidant of Kadyrov, to the scene. “Look, Yevgeny, you don’t seem to understand something,” Delimkhanov said to the Wagner boss. Of course, the Chechen special forces would fulfill all the goals of Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin. ‘But you don’t have to understand that. You can always contact me and we will arrange a time and a place and I will explain it to you.”
Chechen Delimkhanov has been a member of the Russian parliament since 2007. Above all, he is a confidant of the Chechen ruler, who also came to power in the former Soviet republic in 2007 after the deadly murder of his father. Since then, Kadyrov has been protected by Putin.
The 53-year-old multimillionaire Delimkhanov is considered a hardliner. He supports the repressive course of the Chechen ruler, the persecution, alleged torture and murder of opposition members in the country. He recently threatened the family of a Chechen human rights activist that he would “rip their heads off”.
“Everyone involved knows my private phone number”
He criticized Prigozhin for his constant complaints about a lack of ammunition among the Wagner troops at the front in Bakhmut. The “Achmat” brigades never complained about anything.
Behind the skirmishes lies a tangible power struggle in the orbit of the Russian Defense Ministry. Because Putin’s current generals are considered battered by the losing battles in the Ukraine war. Both Prigozhin and Kadyrov want to fill this gap with their troops and position themselves in the complicated power structure of the Russian nomenklatura. Military successes on the battlefield are considered useful.
“Enough chatter, enough yelling and screaming,” Delimkhanov said in the direction of the billionaire oligarch. “Tell me a place to meet and we’ll arrange it personally, as Ramzan Kadyrov would say.” Magomed Daudov, head of the Chechen parliament, went even further: “You would have been shot in World War II for making such a statement,” he told Prigozhin on Telegram.
Prigozhin reacted soberly to the Chechen glove. “If you want to know where I am, anyone involved in this discussion knows my private phone number and is welcome to contact me.”
On the other hand, one of the Wagner commanders, Dimitri Utkin, reacted less calmly than his boss, “Meduza” reports. “Some of our fellow citizens should be thrown against the wall for the disgrace they bring to us. PMC Wagner is and will never panic.” And towards Delimkhanov and Kadyrov he added that the dispute must be settled. “Man to man.”
(t-online, cc)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
