Yevgeny Prigozhin through the years has climbed the ranks and been able to become a part of Vladimir Putin’s inner circle. File image/AFP
Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly shunned Wagner group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin for his constant demand for more ammunition.
Prigozhin said on his Telegram channel, “To get me to stop asking for ammunition, all the hotlines to offices, to departments etc have been cut off from me. But the real humdinger is that they’ve also blocked agencies from making decisions [related to Wagner].”
Putin’s silent treatment comes days after the Russian private army chief publicly called on the Defence Ministry to supply ammunition to his mercenaries who are currently engaged in a fight to capture the key Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
Prigozhin has accused Putin of cutting him off completely and said that he has been unable to get through to anyone at the Kremlin.
‘Knocking on all doors for ammo’
Yevgeny Prigozhin said earlier this month that he had a written letter to the commander of the “special military operation” in Ukraine mentioning his need for ammunition for the Wagner group mercenary.
He said, “On March 3, I wrote a letter to the commander of the grouping of the special military operation about the urgent need to allocate ammunition.”
The Wagner chief accused Russian top brass of “betrayal” for delaying the shipment of ammunition and intentionally depriving his fighters of supplies.
“I’m knocking on all doors and sounding the alarm about ammunition and reinforcements, as well as the need to cover our flanks,” he said according to Reuters.
“Documents were signed on Feb. 22 in the evening and orders were given for shipment on Feb. 23, but most of the ammunition has not yet been shipped. For now, we are trying to figure out the reason — the usual bureaucracy or a betrayal,” he added.
He subsequently requested ordinary Russians to help him in his effort to put pressure on the Russian army to share their supplies of ammunition with Wagner mercenaries.
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