As Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine enters its second year, Russian forces appear to have regained the initiative, having recently captured several key positions in the eastern Donetsk region.
Nevertheless, this week saw a rare—and surprisingly public—display of infighting between Russia’s top officials and the Wagner Group, a private military company with close ties to the Kremlin.
Led by controversial businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner Group has spearheaded the fighting in Donetsk, especially in and around the town of Bakhmut (Artyomovsk in Russian).
A key transport hub for Ukrainian forces, Bakhmut has remained the scene of fierce fighting for the past several months.
In mid-January, Wagner fighters played a leading role in the capture of Soledar, a salt-mining town southwest of Bakhmut. They also led the fight for the nearby town of Paraskoviivka, which Russian forces claimed to have taken earlier this week.
Yet despite these reported battlefield victories, Prigozhin this week accused top Russian military officials of failing to provide Wagner units with sufficient munitions and air transport.
Speaking via Telegram on Feb. 21, Prigozhin claimed that the alleged supply failures, which he personally blamed on Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, amounted to “treason.”
He also posted a graphic image of slain Wagner fighters whom he claimed had been killed because they had inadequate munitions supplies.
Putin Weighs In on Internecine Spats
The Russian Defense Ministry was quick to respond to Prigozhin’s assertions in a Feb. 21 statement.“All statements allegedly made on behalf of assault units on munitions shortages are absolutely untrue,” reads the statement, which didn’t mention Wagner—or Prigozhin—by name.
“All requests for munitions ... are urgently met.”
The ministry also noted that 1,660 rockets, 980 tank munitions, and more than 10,000 heavy artillery rounds had been sent to the front within the past two days.
It asserted that, within the same period, Russian forces—including Wagner fighters—had advanced more than 2 1/2 kilometers toward Ukrainian positions near Bakhmut.
These advances “would be impossible without supporting fire from artillery units, armored vehicles, and other weapons,” according to the ministry.
It noted that “attempts to drive a wedge” between various elements of the Russian armed forces “play into the hands of the enemy.”
Prigozhin appeared to relent on Feb. 23, saying that he had received assurances that the sought-for munitions were on their way. He also thanked “those who helped us do this.”
“You saved hundreds, maybe thousands, of lives of the men who are defending their homeland,” he said via Telegram.
Former Kremlin adviser Sergei Markov, also speaking on Telegram, later suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Security Council had stepped in to break the logjam.
In an address delivered on Feb. 21, Putin himself issued an appeal against “interdepartmental” infighting.
“We must end ... all interdepartmental contradictions, formalities, grudges, misunderstandings, and other nonsense,” he said.
‘No Evidence’ of Major Russian Offensive
The Western media has seized on reports of internecine feuds within Russia’s top military echelons. On Feb. 22, Newsweek went so far as to suggest that Prigozhin, with Western backing, could try to replace Putin in a “coup.”On the same day, however, Prigozhin predicted that Russian forces would soon take the town of Berkhivka (roughly four miles northwest of Bakhmut), where he said Wagner units were steadily advancing.
Speculation has mounted in recent weeks that the conflict’s first anniversary on Feb. 24 could coincide with renewed Russian offensives along the 600-mile-long frontline.
UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told the Financial Times last week that there was “no evidence to date” of a major Russian offensive.
Nevertheless, Wallace conceded that Russian forces were advancing in Donetsk, albeit “in meters, not kilometers.”
Prigozhin’s Wagner Group is the target of numerous sanctions by Washington, which accuses it of committing rights abuses and “extorting natural resources” in Africa.
Last month, the U.S. Treasury Department dubbed the Wagner Group a “significant transnational criminal organization,” citing the “transcontinental threat” allegedly posed by the group.
