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☆ Russia's irregular commanders, like the Wagner boss, are trying to force a top general's hand and risking throwing operations into chaos, war experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Irregular commanders, like Prigozhin, appear to be calling more of the shots in Ukraine, war experts say. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the group's founder, and his fighters have routinely criticized Russia's top military officials over their handling of Russia's faltering war in Ukraine. In threatening to do so, the two "likely effectively blackmailed" Russia's military command into giving resources to Wagner, the ISW said in a Monday assessment. Graves of Russian Wagner mercenary group fighters are seen in a cemetery near the village of Bakinskaya in Krasnodar region, Russia, on January 22, 2023. Meanwhile, Prigozhin marked the occasion by feuding with Russia's military leadership, attacking their ability to defend the country.

☆ Wagner chief said his troops are no longer withdrawing from Bakhmut after being promised as many artillery shells as they need
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The leader of the Wagner fighters said they would not retreat from Bakhmut after being promised ammo. Wagner Group fighters have played a key role in bloody fighting in the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine for months. Concord Press Service/via REUTERSThe outspoken Prigozhin and Russia's military leaders have been feuding for months. Recent leaked Pentagon documents shared by National Guard airman Jack Teixeira revealed analysis suggesting Russia's military leadership has struggled to deal with Prigozhin. The Wagner Group had become a major power player in the war, scoring some publicized wins in Ukraine when Russia's invasion was floundering.

☆ Wagner group signals it will stay in Bakhmut after threat to quit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

However in an audio message posted on his Telegram channel on Sunday, Prigozhin said: "Overnight we received a combat order, for the first time in all this time." "We have been promised as much ammunition and weapons as we need to continue further operations. Prigozhin also said on Sunday that Russia's Defence Ministry had assigned General Sergei Surovikin to work alongside Wagner. "This is the only man with the star of an army general who knows how to fight," he added. Surovikin commanded Russia's Ukraine campaign for several months before the chief of the General Staff, Army Army General Valery Gerasimov, was given overall operational command above him.

For this last 5%, the ‘Red Army’ [the Russian Armed Forces] are not playing any role,” Prigozhin said. His most recent challenge to Russian defense officials comes as Bakhmut remains heavily contested. In his Telegram message Saturday, Prigozhin said Wagner’s role in Bakhmut had been to grind down Ukrainian forces while allowing Russian forces to regroup. In Bakhmut, we grinded (the Ukrainian forces), hence the name – ‘Bakhmut meat grinder,’” Prigozhin said. “With regards to the Bakhmut meat grinder, there will be no more meat grinder because there’s nothing left to grind the meat with,” Prigozhin said.

"I'm pulling Wagner units out of Bakhmut because in the absence of ammunition they're doomed to perish senselessly." But Ukrainian defenders have held out, and Prigozhin has vented increasing anger at what he describes as lack of support from the Russian defence establishment. "My lads will not suffer useless and unjustified losses in Bakhmut without ammunition," Prigozhin added in the video. "If, because of your petty jealousy, you do not want to give the Russian people the victory of taking Bakhmut, that's your problem." The statement also asked Russia's Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov to replace Wagner forces in Bakhmut with Russian troops.

☆ Wagner Group boss says he's pulling his troops out of Bakhmut after posting an expletive-filled tirade against Putin's war chiefs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin said Friday that his troops will pull out of Bakhmut on May 10. Prigozhin has been complaining about the lack of Russian military support in Bakhmut for months. It was unclear whether Prigozhin's comments were a serious declaration of intent, considering the Wagner boss has previously made sarcastic comments and threats he has not followed through with. Prigozhin's statement tops off months of public feuding between the Wagner boss and Russia's military chiefs. He has repeatedly claimed his troops are running out of supplies and accused Russia's top brass of cutting him off.

☆ Surrounded by corpses, Wagner's Prigozhin blasts Russian defence minister in expletive-laden video
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 5 (Reuters) - Standing in a field of corpses, Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin on Friday published an expletive-ridden video personally blaming top defence chiefs for losses suffered by his Wagner Group fighters in Ukraine. Prigozhin appeared next to dozens of bloodied corpses that he said were those of Wagner fighters. His expletives were bleeped out in the video published by his press service. Those responsible would go to hell, Prigozhin shouted, before saying that Wagner's losses would be five times smaller if it was adequately supplied. In recently weeks, Prigozhin had refrained from public attacks on Shoigu, even as he continued to suggest that deliberate ammunition shortages had exacerbated Wagner casualty figures.

“We are lacking 70% of the needed ammunition!” Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin says in a video posted on Telegram. Shining a small flashlight on the corpses laying outdoors near what appears to be the front lines of the war, Prigozhin claims they are the casualties of just one day of fighting. “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 February, he accused the two men of “treason” for their alleged failures to support and supply the Wagner group in Ukraine. Shortly after that posting, he made another saying a shipment of ammunition was on its way to the Wagner troops.

☆ Ukraine says Moscow deploying Wagner fighters to Bakhmut from elsewhere
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, May 5 (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Friday Russia was bringing Wagner mercenary fighters from other parts of the front line to fight in Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, and that Moscow wanted to capture the city in time for Victory Day celebrations next week. Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said his mercenary forces would pull out of Bakhmut on May 10 because of heavy losses and inadequate ammunition supplies. "We are now seeing them pulling (fighters) from the entire offensive line where the Wagner fighters were, they are pulling (them) to the Bakhmut direction," Maliar said in televised comments. Prigozhin's Wagner mercenaries have spearheaded Russia's months-long assault on Bakhmut in the industrial Donbas region. He has regularly accused Russia's military top brass of incompetence.

It also highlights Russian frustration at failing to complete the capture of Bakhmut after more than nine months of costly, intense battle. ANGRY TIRADEWhat looked real, however, was Prigozhin's fury at Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov. "If Putin wants him to be in combat, he'll force him in one way or another to do so." Marten said its involvement in the battle for Bakhmut, including fighters recruited from Russian prisons, had allowed Putin to avoid declaring a full-scale mobilization. Whatever its immediate intentions around Bakhmut, Wagner is likely to remain a significant player in the war, given Prigozhin's personal ambitions and determination to stay in the limelight.

☆ Ukraine's risky gamble in Bakhmut may be paying off as infighting in Russia's ranks threatens its hopes of capturing the city, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Jake Epstein | Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The battle has hurt Russian forces, and Wagner Group mercenaries are threatening to pull out. Wagner's withdrawal, however, suggests that Ukraine's risky decision to stay may be paying off, Russia experts told Insider. Ukrainian army snipers change their position facing Russian troops near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 2, 2023. Russian forces, including Wagner mercenaries, steadily surrounded Ukrainian positions, leaving only one road out of the city. Ukrainian army Grad multiple rocket launcher fires rockets at Russian positions in the frontline near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 3, 2023.

☆ Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin launched a screaming, expletive-filled tirade at Putin's war chiefs as he stood next to dozens of his mens' corpses in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin went ballistic on the Kremlin in an expletive-laden video on Thursday. He lashed out at Russia's defense minister and a top general, blaming them for a lack of ammo. He swore at least nine times in the video, though his press service censored the expletives. In 2022, the Wagner Group drew scandal for recruiting Russian convicts to fight in Ukraine, promising the prisoners their freedom. Russia's defense ministry press service did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

☆ After Years in the Shadows, Prigozhin Becomes a Player in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Anton Troianovski | Ben Shpigel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Yevgeny V. Prigozhin quietly profited from his personal ties to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, winning lucrative catering and construction contracts with the Russian government while building a mercenary force known as Wagner. After throwing his fighters into Ukraine, their ranks swelled with prisoner recruits, Mr. Prigozhin emerged as a public power player, using social media to turn tough talk and brutality into his personal brand. In a scorching video posted Friday on social media, Mr. Prigozhin threatened to pull his fighters next week out of Bakhmut, the embattled city where he has thrown thousands of convicts into the maw of Ukraine’s defenses, taking extraordinary casualties in a stubborn effort to wear down the other side. Citing a lack of ammunition, Mr. Prigozhin delivered the ultimatum after walking among rows of bodies that he claimed were Wagner fighters killed in the battle for Bakhmut. He called out Russia’s defense minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, and Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov, the chief of the military general staff, as responsible for their deaths.

"If, because of your petty jealousy, you do not want to give the Russian people the victory of taking Bakhmut, that's your problem," Prigozhin added in the video. A senior Ukrainian official said Russia was bringing Wagner mercenary fighters from along the front line to Bakhmut to capture it by Victory Day. In another sign of disarray on the Russian side, former Russian deputy defence minister Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev joined Wagner as a deputy commander, Russian pro-war social media channels reported. Earlier, Prigozhin was pictured surrounded by corpses he said were his men, shouting abuse at Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov. Moscow accused Ukraine of firing drones at the Kremlin in the early hours of Wednesday in an attempt to kill Putin.

☆ Russian Mercenary Leader Threatens to Pull Forces From Bakhmut Next Week
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Neil Macfarquhar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

“These are Wagner guys who died today; the blood is still fresh,” Mr. Prigozhin said, in a speech marked by frequent bleeped-out expletives. The Wagner chief has long criticized Russian military leadership openly, with some analysts attributing the tensions to rivalries for President Vladimir V. Putin’s favor. Mr. Prigozhin has never pointed a finger directly at Mr. Putin over Russia’s setbacks in the war. In February, Mr. Prigozhin accused Mr. Shoigu and General Gerasimov of treason, claiming they were starving Wagner of ammunition. The problem for Wagner was not a lack of ammunition, Mr. Cherevaty said, but a shortage of people to fight and die.

☆ Wagner Leader Threatens to Pull Out of Bakhmut: Russia-Ukraine War Live News
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Matt Surman | Ivan Nechepurenko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

☆ Russian commanders now punish misbehaving troops by sticking them in dirt holes covered with metal grilles called 'zindans:' UK intelligence
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The holes in the ground are covered by metal grilles, and are makeshift dungeons called "zindans." Independent Russian media also reported recent cases of Russian troops being held in"zindans." The intelligence update comes several weeks after the independent Russian media outlet Vertska also reported that Russian troops were beaten and placed in "zindans." He pleaded for help from the Russian defense ministry, accusing his commanding officer of being "corrupt." The Russian defense ministry's press service did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

☆ Russian commanders are brutally punishing their own soldiers by putting them in 'holes in the ground,' UK intel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russian commanders are punishing soldiers by putting them in holes in the ground covered with metal grilles. The ministry pointed to multiple recent reports from Russian personnel about the use of such holes in an intelligence update on Sunday. There have previously been reports of Russian soldiers getting into drunken brawls, which have sometimes been deadly. Since the early days of the war, reports have also emerged of Russian troops mutinying and refusing to fight. It has not confirmed the number of casualties, but The Center for Strategic & International Studies estimated in February that between 60,000 and 70,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine.

☆ Russia sacks deputy defence minister sanctioned by West over Mariupol, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 28 (Reuters) - Russian Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, who was sanctioned by the West and dubbed the "Butcher of Mariupol" for his role in the Ukraine war, has been removed as deputy defence minister, according to a military blogger and a leading news website. Mizintsev orchestrated the siege of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in the early months of the war last year. In September, he was appointed deputy defence minister in charge of logistics and supplies. His departure was reported by a Russian military blogger, Alexander Sladkov, and by the RBC news site. Russia has seized more than a sixth of Ukraine's territory, but has sustained heavy losses in the course of the 14-month war.

☆ Russia's military has been preparing for a drone-filled battlefield, and even its cooks are being trained to shoot them down
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Counter-drone training has also become common throughout the Russian military. Having used drones and seen drones used with increasing frequency, the Russian military has also expanded its counter-drone training. The threat is now considered so widespread that most Russian troops, regardless of military specialty, are getting instruction in spotting and dealing with drones. Ukraine's military has been bolstering its drone defenses throughout the war, as shown in the Western military aid being sent to Kyiv. Despite having kinetic and electronic-warfare countermeasures to take out Russian drones, Ukraine still faces a difficult challenge.

☆ How Putin spent 20 years rebuilding Russia's military 'and then just simply destroyed it' in Ukraine, according to an expert who watched it happen
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Vladimir Putin has spent his two decades in power rebuilding and reforming Russia's military. Below, Galeotti describes those reforms, what they achieved, and how, in a devastating war in Ukraine, Putin has squandered the military he built. IGOR SAREMBO/AFP via Getty ImagesWhen Putin came to power at the end of the 1990s, what was the state of the Russian military? How did the Russian military underperform in that conflict in Georgia? What did those conflicts show about the capabilities of the Russian military and about the impact of those reforms?

That man was the military commandant of Balakliia, a key figure in Russia’s six-month occupation of the eastern Ukrainian town. Town residents knew the commandant only by his call sign of “Granit,” the Russian word for granite, as Reuters reported in an October investigation into Moscow’s withdrawal from the town. One of the documents listed Valery Sergeyevich Buslov as among the Russian officers present in Balakliia, stating his role was military commandant. He has served as the Kaliningrad garrison’s military commandant, responsible for maintaining discipline among troops and sailors stationed there, according to a 2019 military newspaper article. By May, the military commandant had arrived in Balakliia, according to Oleksandr, one of the two female residents and another local woman.

Kyiv and the West accuse Russian forces of committing war crimes in occupied Ukrainian territory, which Moscow denies. Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk are the four regions that Putin proclaimed annexed last September following what Ukraine said were sham referendums. Russian forces only partly control the four regions. HEAVY ARTILLERYFighting has raged in and around Bakhmut in Donetsk region for months, with Ukrainian forces holding out despite regular claims by Russia to have taken the city. "Any use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons by Russia would be met with severe consequences," they said.

☆ Ukraine's fighter jet fleet is slowly growing, but its weapons to bring down Russian jets are dwindling, leaked US document shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The jets will bolster Ukraine's fighter fleet, which is still under fire from Russia's larger air force. But air-defense ammunition is a more urgent need, one underscored in recently leaked US documents. Berlin approved Warsaw's request to send jets to Ukraine on Thursday, the same day it was received. Both air forces have shifted tactics and now operate farther from the front line, playing to the advantage of the Russian aircraft, which have an edge at longer ranges. Without the threat posed by those interceptor missiles, Russian aircraft would have greater freedom to attack Ukrainian aircraft and bomb Ukrainian targets, including in support of Russian front-line troops, the leaked document says.

☆ Dozens of POWs freed as Ukraine marks Orthodox Easter
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Ukrainian prisoners of war pose for a picture after a swap, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at an unknown location, Ukraine. "The lives of our people are the highest value for us," Yermak said, adding that Kyiv's goal was to bring back all remaining POWs. At Easter, which from time immemorial has been a family holiday for Ukrainians, a day of warmth, hope and great unity. Others in the line echoed Zaluzhnyy's words about a wartime Easter being a symbol of hope. Despite the shared Orthodox holiday, Russian shelling and missile attacks continued to sow destruction in Ukraine, according to social media statements from Ukrainian regional officials.

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