The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation commented on Yevgeny Prigozhin's accusations of refusing to supply shells to his Wagner PMC and thereby trying to destroy this structure. The press service of the department did not mention Prigozhin himself.
“All applications for the supply of ammunition for assault units are completed as soon as possible. So it was and so it will be. <…> Attempts to split the close mechanism of interaction and support between the divisions of the Russian group are counterproductive and play only to the advantage of the enemy, ”the ministry said in a statement.
Prigozhin responded less than an hour later that the Defense Ministry's comment was "an attempt to cover up crimes."
“I was informed that the Ministry of Defense is spreading information that it allegedly distributes ammunition in the Artyomovsky direction by a volunteer unit. I want to emphasize once again that since we switched to public correspondence with the Ministry of Defense, the Wagner PMC does not receive 80% of the ammunition required for combat missions. Therefore, the statement of the Ministry of Defense is nothing more than a spit in the direction of the Wagner PMC in an attempt to hide their crimes in front of those fighters who are today performing a feat on Bakhmut.”
Earlier today, on February 21, Prigozhin for the first time directly accused Chief of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in an attempt to destroy the Wagner PMC. Previously, Prigozhin blamed the Ministry of Defense, but he never mentioned Gerasimov and Shoigu himself. The audio message was published by his press service on Telegram and on VKontakte .
On February 16, a video appeared on Telegram channels in which four armed men stated that their unit was “completely cut off from the supply of ammunition.” “We are sure that somewhere in the warehouses there is this ammunition, and we are in dire need of it. A huge number of people will survive and be able to continue to participate in hostilities, ”said one of the fighters in the appeal. According to him, the solution of the issue with the supply of ammunition "will affect the entire course of the war."
Prigozhin called the fighters who wrote down an appeal to the Ministry of Defense with a request to supply ammunition "wonderful" and assured that he himself would go around "all known offices in Moscow" until "the guys get everything they need."
In January, Prigozhin and the Ministry of Defense argued over the capture of Soledar. Prigozhin stated that the city was taken by the Wagnerites, the Ministry of Defense claimed that not only they were participating in the battles.
Commenting on the situation, the former “DPR Minister of Defense” Igor Strelkov (Girkin) notes that the purpose of the actions of the Ministry of Defense is to subordinate Prigozhin and his mercenaries to the orders of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
“What is the purpose of such a position of the leadership of the RF Ministry of Defense is nowhere clearer: the goal is the complete subordination of PMC Wagner to the structures of the RF Ministry of Defense, either by reorganization and inclusion directly into the Armed Forces, or (at least) by changing the leadership. Tolerate arrogance (that's how, I'm sure Shoigu perceives Prigozhin's activities) and competition, Plywood Marshal does not categorically intend to – it calls into question his status as "crown prince", ”writes Strelkov.
Prigozhin, according to Telegram channels, is actively using media resources in the confrontation. Following the appeal of the mercenaries, the appeal of doctors as part of the Wagner PMC appeared on the network. Obviously, it also concerns the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
“Every day we lose hundreds of comrades-in-arms”, “we are not supplied with weapons and ammunition”, “stop messing around,” the doctors say in the appeal.
After the Ministry of Defense stopped supplying weapons, the requests of PMC mercenaries to the ministry became much more polite. Back in late December, the military with the Wagner PMC patch published a video, the authenticity of which was later confirmed by Prigozhin, where they turned to the head of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov with a demand to give them shells, using obscene vocabulary:
“To the Chief of the General Staff: you are a f*ck and a f**k. We have nothing to fight with, we have no shells. There, the guys are dying for us, and we are sitting here, fucking not helping. We need shells, we want to f*ck everyone. We are fighting against the entire Ukrainian army near Bakhmut. Where are you, help us, finally. There is nothing more to call you, bl * d. Except for one word – f*dor.