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Boss Wagner: Russian Troops Planted Mines to Hurt Our Members. PHOTO/Reuters
MOSCOW – Mercenary troop boss Wagner Russia, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has continued a months-long war of words with the leadership of the Armed Forces Russia . Most recently, he accused pro-Moscow forces of planting explosives to injure his fighters as they retreated from Bakhmut .
Prigozhin made his claim on Friday, when most of Wagner’s mercenaries withdrew from the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut after months of bloody fighting and heavy casualties. Wagner’s position in the destroyed city was left to the Russian army.
Writing on Telegram, Prigozhin said his men had found a dozen mines in a rear area where Russian Defense Ministry officials had planted various explosive devices, including hundreds of anti-tank mines.
“When asked why the mines were laid and the explosives were set up, the defense ministry officials indicated that it was an order from their superiors,” Prigozhin said.
“There is no need to plant this payload to deter the enemy, because (the area in question) is in the rear area,” he said. “Therefore, we can assume that these charges were intended to deal with the advancing Wagner units,” continued Prigozhin.
Russia’s defense ministry was not immediately available for comment. Previously, Prigozhin had complained for months that his men were not being given enough ammunition by the Russian top brass for the attack on Bakhmut and claimed that his fighters were being discriminated against.
Boss Wagner’s often expletive-ridden criticism of Russia’s military leadership has been criticized by other pro-Moscow commanders who have fought in Ukraine – potentially a significantly growing gap between the Kremlin’s allied forces in the war.
Addressing Prigozhin in a video message on Thursday, and using the abbreviation for “Zhenya” and the Russian form you know (“ty”), Adam Delimkhanov, a close ally of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, made Wagner’s boss something of a blogger who screams around the clock.
“You have become a blogger who shouts and shouts to the whole world about all the problems,” said Delimkhanov. “Stop yelling, yelling and yelling,” he said.
“If you don’t understand, then you can contact us and tell us the place and time, I will explain to you what you don’t understand,” Delimkhanov said in a message to Prigozhin.
(esn)
