The Russian Ministry of Defense denied the statements of the Russian mercenary army Wagner about the problem of the supply of ammunition.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that the Russian security company Wagner’s statements that there were problems with the supply of ammunition were not factual.
The Russian Ministry of Defense made a statement after the statements of Wagner’s founder, Yevgeny Prigojin, that no ammunition was supplied to his personnel fighting in Ukraine. In the statement, it was emphasized that it was important to provide the necessary materials to the soldiers at the front, that the Russian troops advanced more than 2 kilometers towards Bahmut in the last 2 days, and this was possible with artillery, armored vehicles, and other weapons.
The statement included the following statements:
“Despite the difficult weather conditions around Artyomovsk (Bahmut), warplanes have made 18 flights in support of the attacks in the last few days. For this reason, all statements about the lack of ammunition on behalf of the assault units are not factual. Between 18 and 20 February 1660 multi-barreled rocket launchers, 10,171 ammunition for the mortar shell, and 980 ammunition for the tank were delivered to the volunteers in the assault units. All requests regarding the supply of ammunition to the assault units are fulfilled as soon as possible.”
‘AMMUNITION PROBLEM IS NOT SOLVED’
On the other hand, Wagner’s founder Yevgeny Prigojin, in a statement before the Ministry’s statement, stated that a sufficient number of ammunition was produced in Russia, but the problems with its supply were not resolved.
Pointing out that the necessary support was provided to military officials at all levels in this regard, Prigojin said:
“I cannot solve this problem despite all my contacts. Everything stays in place. No decision is taken on this matter. No one knows how the limits and procedures for the supply of ammunition came about. No one knows the ways to sign the required documents. Everyone points up at me and says, ‘Your relations with that place are not simple, so you have to apologize to your superiors and obey, only in this way your soldiers can obtain ammunition.’ Who should I apologize to? Who should I obey? Please tell me who I should apologize to, 140 million Russian citizens so that my soldiers died twice as often as today.”
ALLEGED ‘BREAKTHROUGH’
In a video that appeared in the Russian press last week, Wagner mercenaries claimed that they were no longer supplied with ammunition and stated that they wanted support from the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Prigojin also made a written statement regarding the call in the video, pointing out that the mercenaries did not use a defamatory expression on the Russian Ministry of Defense and only expressed their demands for ammunition, “I visited every office I know in Moscow and I will continue these visits until our children get what they need. Even if I was handcuffed in one of these offices for allegedly discrediting the army,” he said.
In a statement made on February 11 by the British Ministry of Defense, it was explained that the rivalry between Wagner and the Russian Ministry of Defense has increased recently and that Wagner can no longer use the prisoners in Russian prisons on the Ukrainian front.
In some news in various press organizations in Western countries, it was claimed that the Russian Ministry of Defense had warned Russian media organizations not to use the names of Wagner and Prigojin in the news.