Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, said on Tuesday that he was “not sure” whether the group’s fighters would continue to fight in Ukraine as he continued his disputes with Russia’s Defense Ministry, the latest of which was the ministry’s refusal to sign a requested contract, Reuters reported.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of Wagner’s Russian mercenariesPhoto: Handout / AFP / Profimedia

This group was at the forefront of the assault on the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which it managed to capture, but at the cost of heavy losses. After he captured the city, Wagner withdrew from there to rest his troops and handed over the captured positions to the regular troops of the Russian army, who are now facing a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the same city, which is directed mainly from the flanks and in which the Ukrainian army advanced more than per kilometer, Kyiv reports.

All the time of the assault on Bakhmut, Prigozhin accused the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Sergei Shoigu, of imposing restrictions on the supply of ammunition to the “Wagner” PMK, which lost many fighters in vain because of this. He also blamed senior Defense Ministry officials for the lack of leadership and wrong tactics that led to a series of setbacks for the Russian military in the military campaign launched against Ukraine in February 2022.

“Regarding the future actions of the private military company Wagner in Ukraine, I am not sure that it will be active in Ukraine again,” Prigozhin said, answering questions from the Danish mass media. Wagner fighters also saw combat operations in Africa and the Middle East, where they still have contracts.

Putin supports Shoigu’s order

Minister Shoigu issued an order requiring Russian volunteer units to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense by July 1, an order he justified by the need for better integration of Russian military units that would promote “unified approaches” in combat missions.

Prigozhin immediately reacted, declaring that the Wagner PMC would not sign any such contract, which, meanwhile, according to the Russian military TV channel Zvezda, had been signed by three brigades and four volunteer units, as well as the Chechen group Akhmat, led by Ramzan Kadyrov .

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that he supports the implementation of Minister Shoigu’s decree.

Read in full: Vladimir Putin, the first reaction to Ukraine’s counteroffensive and losses at the front / Critics of his own army

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