Russian Frontline At Risk Of Collapse If Putin's Forces Retreat From Key Ukrainian Territory, Mercenary Chief Reveals
Vladimir Putin’s mercenary chief revealed that the entire Russian frontline risks collapsing if Moscow’s forces retreat from the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In a sudden development to come just days after Putin’s mercenary chief claimed his forces had Bakhmut surrounded, Yevgeny Prigozhin warned the Russian military will be forced to retreat unless additional ammunition is quickly provided.
Prigozhin also claimed his Wagner Private Military Company is the “cement” holding the Russian frontline together, and if his forces “pull back” then the entire Russian military would fall.
“Today, Wagner is the cement that, as I've said previously, is holding the Ukrainian army in place,” Prigozhin said in a four-minute video released over the weekend. “Grinding it down, destroying it, and preventing it from deploying to other regions and occupying other fronts.”
“We're also moving forward and the army is forced to follow behind us to save face and prop up their reputation,” Putin’s mercenary chief continued. “If the Wagner group pulls back, then the following situation will unfold.”
“It is clear that the front will crumble, the front will crumble for the Russian borders, perhaps it crumbles even further,” he added.
Later in the video, Prigozhin complained that the ammunition promised to him and his forces last month had yet to be shipped. He then implied Wagner PMC had been betrayed by Putin and other top Kremlin officials.
“For now, we are trying to figure out the reason: is it just ordinary bureaucracy or a betrayal?” Prigozhin asked in the video published on Telegram.
“If Wagner pulls back from Bakhmut, then this is how history will remember us,” he explained. “A group of mercenaries led by Prigozhin convinced President Putin of its necessity.
“Then they fell back and the Ukrainian army broke into the territory of the Luhansk People's Republic, swept away Luhansk, swept away Krasnodon and entered the territory of Russia,” Prigozhin continued.
“If we move back, then we will go down in history for ever as the people who took the main step towards losing the war. This is exactly the problem that we have now – we are being starved of ammunition.”
- Vladamir Putin Deepens Feud With Russian Mercenary Chief Who Bragged His Rogue Troops Captured Key Ukrainian Battleground
- Russian Civil War? Wagner Forces Only Hours Away From Moscow as Vladimir Putin's Soldiers Prepare for Battle
- Russia Suffered 100,000 Casualties and Advanced Only 60 Feet Per Day in 'Pointless' Nine-month Battle for Bakhmut
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, this is the second time Prigozhin pled with Putin to send more ammunition in a matter of a few weeks.
In February, Prigozhin accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of treason for purposely depriving Wagner PMC of ammunition.
According to Prigozhin, Shoigu refused to provide more ammunition and air support to Wagner PMC in an effort to destroy the private military company.
“There is simply direct opposition going on,” Prigozhin charged at the time. “This can be equated to high treason.”
“The chief of the general staff and the defense minister are giving orders right and left not just not to give Wagner PMC ammunition, but not to help it with air transport,” Putin’s mercenary chief continued.
Never miss a story — sign up for the RadarOnline.com newsletter to get your daily dose of dope. Daily. Breaking. Celebrity news. All free.
“Those who interfere with us trying to win this war are absolutely, directly working for the enemy.”
As RadarOnline.com reported, this is the latest incident to come between the Russian leader and his mercenary chief since the war in Ukraine started more than one year ago.
Kremlin insiders recently suggested Putin feels threatened by Prigozhin and his mercenaries, claiming he ordered his underlings to starve the private military company of aid to hinder the group’s chances of succeeding in Ukraine.