“Kerasimov, Shoigu, bastards! Where’s the damn ammunition?”: Prigozhin publicly criticizes Russian leaders | War in Ukraine

In pictures on his Telegram channel, Prigozhin shows the effects of the ammunition shortage he says he suffered. The deeply distraught man made a real declaration of war to General Gerasimov, the head of the Russian General Staff, and Sergei Shoigu, the Russian Minister of Defense, in front of the bloodied bodies of dozens of fallen fighters on the battlefield.

“Look at them, you bastards! You sit in your fancy living rooms, your kids make videos on YouTube, and you think you have the right to throw their lives away… They came here as volunteers and died so you can get fat in your offices”, he fumes. “Gerasimov, Shoigu: Where’s the damn ammo?!”

According to Prigozhin, Wagner was losing at least eighty soldiers a day in the besieged city of Bagmouth. With enough ammunition, mercenaries would suffer at least five times fewer casualties, according to their boss.

At the end of last month, Prigozhin threatened to withdraw all his forces from the besieged city of Bagmouth. The Ukrainian city has been under attack for months by Russian soldiers and Wagner’s mercenaries. The Russians claim to control 85% of the city’s territory. Ukraine refuses to give up the city, which is now largely destroyed, and says the battle for Bakhmout is causing heavy losses on the Russian side.

The aggressive style of Prigogine’s video clearly shows that he means business. Wagner’s boss has criticized Russia’s military leaders before, but never directly and openly, analysts say. With that in mind, the so-called “tormentor of Mariupol” is the middle finger of the Russian military to recently sacked Russian Deputy Defense Minister Mikhail Mizhintsev as Wagner’s new deputy commander. Mijintse was one of the few members of the army who listened to Wagner’s needs before falling out of favor.