Vladimir Putin quickly realized that his Russian army (now chock full of inexperienced troops after cycling through massive deaths and subsequent drafts) wasn’t able to get things done on its own in Ukraine. That would be the sole reason why he reeled in the Wagner Group to be his private army of mercenaries against Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces. Recently, however, reports indicated that those hired guns were apparently being ground to pieces (in vast numbers), too, and they also began desperate recruiting tactics to replenish forces as the second year of Putin’s war gets started.
Surprise, plans appear to have changed on behalf of Putin. What’s even more bizarre, though, is that those plans seem to have changed without anyone informing the Wagner Group. CNN has published audio footage, in which Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is complaining that the Kremlin won’t take his calls. Putin is now allegedly giving him the cold soldier and leaving Wagner soldiers to twist in the wind in Ukraine. All of this is happening while Prigozhin claims that the group has been cut off from ammunition supplies, and he asserts that the situation is seriously messed up:
“To get me to stop asking for ammunition, all the hotlines to offices, to departments, etc., have been cut off from me, but the real humdinger is that they’ve also blocked agencies from making decisions [related to Wagner].”
Not ideal! The Wagner Group reportedly dropped around 50,000 soldiers into Ukraine over the course of a year, and they’ve paid the price in blood (with up to 30,000 casualties) during this military conflict. And yet, dead silence is coming from Putin, according to Prigozhin, who declared, “I’m knocking on all doors, sounding the alarm with ammunition and reinforcements, as well as covering our flanks.” An artillery unit representative is heard adding, “At the moment, we are completely cut off from from the ammunition supply.”
Where is Putin lately? Somewhere freaking out about cabbage. Priorities.
(Via CNN)