London: Tensions in Russian army show precarious situation
British secret services see tensions between the Russian government and the Russian private army as a sign of the precarious situation in the Ukraine war. The conflicts, some of which have been held in public, made it clear how difficult it is to maintain a sufficient level of personnel and ammunition in the current Russian offensive, the British Ministry of Defense said in its daily briefing on Tuesday.
The head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, had repeatedly criticized the Russian military leadership. According to Prigozhin, the Wagner fighters blocked Bakhmut, and now the Ukrainian soldiers are trying to encircle the Russian units and break the blockade. “Ukrainian armed forces will fight to the end for Artemovsk (Russian name for Bakhmut), that’s obvious. We should also do our work to the end,” said Prigozhin. He again demanded more ammunition from the Russian military leadership.
The fact that Ukraine is continuing to defend the heavily contested city of Bakhmut is weakening the armed forces on both sides, the British said. The Ukrainians were said to have been able to stabilize their defense line over the weekend after Russian troops had previously penetrated the north of the city. Supply, on the other hand, is becoming increasingly difficult because important access routes have been destroyed and the Ukrainians are increasingly having to resort to muddy, unpaved roads for supplies.