(Dan Tri) – The leader of the private military corporation Wagner announced that he would not sign any contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense in the context that Moscow is said to want to strengthen its forces for the military campaign in Ukraine.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of private military corporation Wagner (Photo: Twitter).
`Wagner will not sign any contracts with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu,` Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin announced on June 11.
Mr. Prigozhin said that Wagner has no obligation to comply with Minister Shoigu’s orders.
According to Mr. Prigozhin, Wagner forces coordinated with General Sergey Surovikin in the Ukraine battlefield and `Mr. Surovikin is the only general who knows how to fight`.
The above statement was made after Minister Shoigu asked all `volunteer troops` to sign contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense before July 1.
`This will provide volunteer units with the necessary legal status, creating unified approaches to comprehensive supply organization and fulfillment of their tasks,` the Russian Defense Ministry said.
`These measures will enhance the combat capabilities and effectiveness of the armed forces and volunteer units,` Deputy Minister of Defense Nikolai Pankov stated.
Although this agency did not specifically mention Wagner, according to local media, this is an attempt by Defense Minister Shoigu to control Wagner.
Mr. Prigozhin said that Moscow could use the reason for not complying with the order to stop providing weapons and equipment to Wagner.
`What may happen after this order is that they will no longer provide weapons and ammunition to us. However, when an incident occurs, they will bring weapons again to ask for help,` the leader said.
Wagner has been a force participating in Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine since February last year.
The relationship between Wagner and the Russian army became increasingly fractured when this private military unit accused Moscow of not providing adequate weapons and ammunition, causing them to suffer great losses.
Late last month, Wagner began withdrawing troops from Bakhmut and handed over positions here to the Russian army after losing more than 20,000 troops.
It is unclear how Wagner’s withdrawal from Bakhmut will affect the conflict situation in this strategic city.