Ukrainian serviceman dismisses Prigozhin's tantrums as false and exaggerated

"We can see perfectly well that ... Prigozhin's tantrums with shouting, swearing, and screaming that ‘there are not enough shells, there is not enough ammunition’ ... is a lie," Sazonov said.

“First of all ... the intensity of the shelling did not decrease. That is, (Wagner’s alleged) shell hunger did not show itself in practice.”

The Ukrainian soldier said that the defenders of Bakhmut can tell if one of the sides has such a deficit.

"I think that all these hysterics were because he already realized that they were running out of steam, they could not storm Bakhmut," Sazonov said.

“And even if they (captured) Bakhmut, they would find themselves in a very difficult situation. He realized that it would end badly. But of course, he does not want to admit that he is a bad strategist and has a bad army.”

Sazonov said Prigozhin is "sculpting political capital out of this" and is therefore looking for a scapegoat.

Read also: Ukrainian intelligence explains conflict between Prigozhin and Shoigu

"(Russian Defense Minister Sergei) Shoigu is to blame, (Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery) Gerasimov is to blame, they don't give him enough shells, they throw them to the slaughter," Sazonov said.

“That is, (he wants) to explain his failures and his retreat inside the country in advance. He is also trying to drag his old accomplice in Syria, Surovikin, who has very little influence on anything now, into decision-making. That is, this is Prigozhin's purely political game, a political game within Russia. It has nothing to do with reality and us.”

On May 4, Wagner mercenary company leader Prigozhin posted a video with rows of corpses of Wagner mercenaries who, according to him, had been killed that day near Bakhmut. He also cursed Russian regular army leaders Shoigu and Gerasimov, claiming a Wagner was suffering a "70% shortage of ammunition."

The next day, Prigozhin threatened that his mercenaries would "leave Bakhmut" on May 10 due to the lack of ammunition. In response, Chechenwarlord Ramzan Kadyrov said that the Chechen “Akhmat” special forces were ready to go to Bakhmut to replace the Wagner mercenaries, and Prigozhin agreed. Kadyrov even said that he had written a letter to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin with a request to that effect.

However, on May 7, Prigozhin reported that he had received a "combat order" promising ammunition and weapons in sufficient quantities to continue the offensive in Bakhmut. And on May 8, he said that General Sergei Surovikin, the mediator between Wagner Group and the Russian Defense Ministry, would be demoted after failing on the battlefield.

Read also: Russian brigade flees from Bakhmut – Ukraine confirms Prigozhin’s claim

Then on May 9 Prigozhin released another video complaining about a lack of ammunition. He also said that the Russian army had fled its positions inBakhmut and exposed one of the frontline flanks.

"We have a Ministry of Intrigue instead of a Ministry of Defense, so our army is fleeing," Prigozhin said.

“It's fleeing because the (Russian army’s) 72nd Brigade today (May 9 - ed.) frittered away three square kilometers, where I had about 500 peoplekilled, because it was a strategic foothold. They just (ran away).”

On that day, he also made a passing reference to "grandpa, who may turnout to be an asshole," presumably referring to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

On May 10, Prigozhin decried the level of support for the Russian military and warned of the "destruction of the Russian people."

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine