Wheels fall off Russian war machine as furious Wagner boss rants against Russian leadership

The leader of the Wagner PMC mercenary group has posted a video in which he blames Russian military leaders for the slaughter of his men in Bakhmut.

Yevgeny Prigozhin has sworn to withdraw his troops from the ‘meat grinder’ of Bakhmut on May 10, according to Metro.

In a field littered with the bodies of his slain soldiers, Prigozhin sounds off at the leaders of Russian defence and holds them responsible for their huge losses and not providing enough ammunition.

Previously he said his men would retreat from Bakhmut on May 10, and no longer be involved in what has become a bloodbath for Russian forces.

He declared, ‘I declare on behalf of the Wagner fighters, on behalf of the Wagner command, that on May 10, 2023, we are obliged to transfer positions in the settlement of Bakhmut to units of the defence ministry and withdraw the remains of Wagner to logistics camps to lick our wounds.

‘I’m pulling Wagner units out of Bakhmut because in the absence of ammunition, they’re doomed to perish senselessly.’

The city of Bakhmut, was home to 70,000 people before Russia’s invasion, and although it is of no great strategic importance it has become notorious due to the intense loss of life and the sheer length of time the battle has taken thus far.

It appears that Putin’s desire to take the city by any means necessary has backfired and has played into Ukraine’s hands, while Russia has used up much of its resources and paid the heaviest price.

It was thought that Ukrainian defenders would give up the fight for the city, which is now nothing more than a wasteland, but the tactic has worked with Russian forces heavily depleted.

On Friday, May 5, Prigozhin fronted a video, Shouting and cursing at Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.

He yelled, ‘we have a 70% shortage of ammunition. Shoigu! Gerasimov! Where is the ******* ammunition?’

‘Because of the lack of ammunition, our losses are increasing exponentially every day. My lads will not suffer useless and unjustified losses in Bakhmut without ammunition’.

‘If, because of your petty jealousy, you do not want to give the Russian people the victory of taking Bakhmut, that’s your problem.’

Political analyst, Vladimir Pastukhov, claimed that Prigozhin’s was trying to extricate himself from the mess and shift the blame onto Shoigu.

Pastukhov commented online, ‘someone will have to answer for the mountain of corpses. And that moment is approaching.’

Prigozhin’s withdrawal deadline of May 10 creates a major problem for Russian generals who have just five days to plug the gap that Wagner would leave.