Wagner boss Prigozhin publishes video of dead Russian soldiers, lashing out at Russian military leadership

Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Kremlin-backed private Russian mercenary Wagner Group, published a video on his Telegram channel showing dozens of dead Russian soldiers, lashing out at the Russian military for its failure to provide his forces with ammunition.

In an expletive-laden tirade, Prigozhin blames Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov and Defense Minister of Russia Sergei Shoigu for a "70 percent shortage of ammunition" on the battlefield in Ukraine and for the deaths of the soldiers.

According to Prigozhin, the soldiers were killed in Ukraine on May 4.

Prigozhin has repeatedly complained about ammunition shortages over the past several months. On April 29, he threatened to abandon his positions next to Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast if he didn't get more supplies from the Kremlin.

The Wagner Group has taken a leading role in Russia's offensive efforts in eastern Ukraine, particularly around the city of Bakhmut, where brutal fighting has claimed heavy casualties on both sides.

The private mercenary group was once allowed to recruit intensely from Russia's prison population, but has since seen its access to inmates cut off by the Kremlin. Some 50,000 Wagner mercenaries, including tens of thousands of convicted felons, were killed in the attack on Bakhmut.