The head of the Russian mercenary Wagner group requested Moscow to permit him at hand over his positions in Bakhmut to Ramzan Kadyrov’s Chechen forces.
“I ask you to issue a combat order before 00:00 on May 10 concerning the transfer of the positions of the Wagner paramilitary units in Bakhmut and its periphery to the units of the Akhmat battalion,” Yevgeny Prigozhin mentioned in a letter to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
The Akhmat battalion refers back to the Chechen fight models beneath the command of strongman Kadyrov, who has dominated Russia’s Muslim-majority republic of Chechnya for the final decade and a half.
Prigozhin mentioned his fighters could be compelled to drag out due to a protracted “ammunition famine.”
He accused the Russian protection ministry of solely delivering 32% of the required ammunition since October 2022.
Wagner fighters are main the battle for Bakhmut, throughout which rivalries between Prigozhin and the traditional military have come to the floor.
On Friday, the Wagner chief threatened to drag out in scathing movies attacking Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
Kadyrov on Friday mentioned on Telegram that his fighters have been “ready to advance and occupy the city.”
He praised Wagner models, saying each teams had fought aspect by aspect within the “most difficult” battles of Popasna, Severodonetsk and Lysychansk.
In a message earlier on Saturday, Prigozhin thanked Kadyrov for his supply and mentioned Chechen forces would “no doubt” seize Bakhmut.
Source: www.dailysabah.com