War, “Russian army fleeing from Bakhmut”. The Prigozhin case explodes in the Kremlin

The Russian regular army is “on the run” from Bakhmut. This is the accusation launched by the head of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in an audio published on Telegram. The first of the mercenaries criticized the words of the official representative of the Ministry of Defense of Russia, Igor Konashenkov, who had previously stated during an update of the front that the units of the Russian armed forces had “regrouped” near Bakhmut, occupying a more advantageous line .

Prigozhin, founder of the infamous Russian construction company, also invited Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to visit the city of Bakhmut to assess the situation there. “Taking into account the difficult operational situation, as well as your many years of experience in combat operations, I ask you to come to the Bakhmut Territory, which is under the control of paramilitary units of the Russian Federation, and independently assess the current situation ” , he said. written on social networks. The mercenary leader, known for his harsh criticism of the Russian military command, added that his group, which protects the regular Russian army, had suffered “a series of successful counterattacks” on the flanks. Prigozhin also called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s statements that Ukraine needed more time to launch a counter-offensive against Russian forces a “stratagem”. “As for the counter-offensive, it’s Zelensky’s trick, the counter-offensive is already in full swing.” According to Prigozhin, the Ukrainian army “attacks from the flanks on the Artiomovsk front (this is the Russian name for Bakhmut, ed.) and, unfortunately, in some places successfully.”

Prigozhin “is seriously irritating” Russian leaders: two Kremlin sources told the independent Russian newspaper Meduza, words that were re-released by the Institute for the Study of War. According to sources, Putin’s chef may have crossed the Kremlin’s “red lines” and his recent video messages, in which he attacks Moscow head-on, questioning its ability to protect Russia, are “seriously upsetting the top leadership” in Moscow. . Among other things, according to the sources, Prigozhin is losing touch with one of his mentors, the Russian billionaire, Vladimir Putin’s ‘personal banker’, Yuriy Kovalchuk, who was one of the biggest supporters of the Ukrainian invasion after getting very close in the Kremlin, during the pandemic due to Covid.