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Russian military leaders "sit like fat cats" as Wagner fighters die
In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Wagner Group’s founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, expressed frustration over what he sees as a lack of support from Russia’s military leadership. Prigozhin claims that his private military company has suffered significant casualties in recent years, while the Russian military leaders “sit like fat cats” and do little to help.
The Wagner Group, a Russian private military company, has gained notoriety for its involvement in conflicts in Syria, Ukraine, and other parts of the world. Prigozhin, a former restaurateur with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, founded the group in 2014. Since then, it has grown to become one of the most powerful private military companies in the world, with thousands of fighters and contracts with various governments.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wagner Chief Warns His Forces To Exit Bakhmut On May 10 While Military Leaders "Sit Like Fat Cats" <a href="https://t.co/sMhUJo97PD">https://t.co/sMhUJo97PD</a></p>— zerohedge (@zerohedge) <a href="https://twitter.com/zerohedge/status/1654496233166127104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 5, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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According to Prigozhin, the Wagner Group has suffered significant losses in recent years. He claims that more than 2,000 of his fighters have been killed in action, including several who died in a recent battle in Syria. Despite these losses, he says that Russian military leaders have done little to support his group.
“They sit like fat cats and do nothing. We are lacking 70% of the needed ammunition” Prigozhin said in the interview. “They don’t help us with logistics or intelligence. The blood is still fresh,” he says, pointing to the bodies behind him. “They came here as volunteers and are dying so you can sit like fat cats in your luxury offices.”
“Shoigu, Gerasimov, where … is the ammunition?” says Prigozhin, calling out Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of the Russian armed forces Gen. Valery Gerasimov.
In another video statement, released Friday on Telegram, Prigozhin said, “The dead and wounded – and that’s tens of thousands of men – lie on the conscience of those who did not give us ammunition, and this is Defense Minister Shoigu and this is Chief of the General Staff Gerasimov.
Prigozhin’s call for more ammunition is not new, nor are his methods. He has repeatedly complained of receiving insufficient support from the Kremlin in the grueling fight for the eastern city. Prigozhin’s comments highlight the complex relationship between private military companies and governments.
Russia has been known to use private military companies like Wagner to advance its interests in conflicts around the world. However, it is unclear how much control the Russian government has over these groups or how much support they receive from the military.
Prigozhin’s comments are also likely to raise questions about the ethics of using private military companies in conflicts. Critics argue that these companies operate outside of international law and can engage in human rights abuses without consequence.
Despite these concerns, private military companies like Wagner are likely to remain an important part of the global military landscape. As long as conflicts continue to arise around the world, governments will look for ways to fight them without putting their own troops in harm’s way. Whether these companies are a force for good or a cause for concern will likely continue to be a matter of debate.
