The head of the private firm warned that Russian military positions around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut were in danger unless Wagner Group's tenants urgently received ammunition.
Yevgeny Prigozhin said Russia’s front lines near Bakhmut could collapse if his forces did not get the shells and rounds promised by Moscow in late February – the latest sign of tension between the Kremlin and the militia chief.
“For now, we are trying to figure out the reason: is it just ordinary bureaucracy or a betrayal,” Prigozhin, referring to the absence of ammunition, said on his press service Telegram channel on Sunday.
Prigozhin regularly criticises Russia’s defence chiefs and top generals. Last month, he accused defence minister Sergey Shoigu and others of “treason” for withholding supplies of munitions to his men.
Fighting has intensified near Bakhmut over the past week, with Russian forces attacking from nearly all sides.
Volodymyr Nazarenko, a commander of Ukrainian troops in Bakhmut, said there had been no order to treat and “the defence is holding” in grim conditions.
