Russia’s Ministry of Defense and “Dark Army” Wagner split, Mr. Prigozhin angry over artillery supply, power struggle worsening? : Tokyo Shimbun TOKYO Web

Prigozhin, the businessman who runs the private military company Wagner, dubbed Putin’s “black army” in Russia, has again stepped up his criticism of the Russian defense ministry. On the 21st, he complained in a communication app that Wagner, who was fighting in Ukraine, was not being supplied with ammunition. It seems that the power struggle in the Russian military organization is becoming more serious, and it is likely to affect the war situation.

In response to Mr Prigozhin’s post, the Ministry of Defense immediately responded in a statement: “Any attempt to tear apart the tight cohesion of our entire army only serves the enemy’s advantage.”

“Without the monstrous Ministry of Defense bureaucracy, we would have been able to take control of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region, which is in a fierce battle with the Ukrainian military, within the last year,” he said in a communication app on the 16th. post. On the 21st, when he complained of a shortage of artillery shells, he said, “Some people have advised me that it was because I had a tense relationship with the ‘big guys’. But why should I apologize to the ‘big guys’?” ” he claimed.

Mr. Prigozhin made a fortune in restaurant management and catering business and came to get close to President Putin, but it is said that he has a bad relationship with the military mainstream such as Defense Minister Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Gerasimov. Wagner recruited prisoners serving time in various places as soldiers and sent them to the Eastern Front since last summer. More than 30,000 people have already been killed or injured, according to independent media outlet Medusa.