Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, has threatened to withdraw his troops from the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut due to a shortage of ammunition.
In footage that his representatives shared, Prigozhin can be seen walking amid the fighters' corpses and criticizing senior Russian army officials for their lack of assistance. He said that "tens of thousands" had been killed and injured during the struggle for Bakhmut, in which Wagner soldiers had played an integral part, according to the BBC.
The continuing Russian assault to take the city has been damaged by Prigozhin's decision to leave on May 10.
The US National Security Council recently disclosed that over 20,000 Russian soldiers had been killed and another 80,000 wounded in the Russia-Ukraine war since December, with half of the dead from the Wagner group.
Prigozhin accused the defense minister of ignoring his soldiers and putting their personal comfort before their safety in his statement filled with profanity.
The Wagner head often directs his ire at Sergei Shoigu, the defense minister, and Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff, amid rumors of bitter rivalry inside Vladimir Putin's inner clique.
Wagner's Role in the Russia-Ukraine War
According to Yevgeny Prigozhin, a rich businessman with deep links to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Wagner Group had intended to take Bakhmut by May 9, which is a significant Russian festival honoring the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, per ABC News.
The struggle for Bakhmut, which lasted more than eight months and saw thousands of casualties, is said to be the longest and bloodiest of the whole Russia-Ukraine war, and Wagner has been at the forefront of it all. However, no official death toll has been disclosed by either side.
Yevgeny Prigozhin has been to Russian jails to enlist fighters, promising convicts pardons in exchange for a six-month stint serving with Wagner on the front lines, according to Global News.
The United Nations and Western nations have charged Wagner mercenaries with several human rights violations throughout Africa, including in the Central African Republic, Libya, and Mali.
Despite Bakhmut's strategic military importance for Moscow, many don't think it will have a major impact on how the Russia-Ukraine war turned out.
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