Prigozhin Invites Shoigu to Bakhmut

Today, an official letter addressed to Russia's Minister of Defense, Sergei Shoigu, was revealed on the Telegram channel of Evgeny Prigozhin, the head of the 'Wagner' group.

In the letter, it is specifically stated: 'Currently, the units of the private military company 'Wagner' control more than 95 percent of the Bakhmut settlement and continue the assault to fully liberate it. Under the wings of the 'Wagner' private military company, where the units of the Russian Armed Forces are deployed, the enemy has launched a series of successful counterattacks. Considering the operational difficulty of the situation, as well as your extensive experience in combat operations, I request that you arrive in the area of Bakhmut, which is under the control of the military units of the Russian Federation, to assess the situation personally. I thank you in advance and hope you will agree.'

Prigozhin has been in the spotlight in recent days, having complained about a shortage of ammunition and blaming the Russian Defense Minister and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov for it. He has accused individual Russian soldiers of treachery and insisted that on May 9, one of the Russian Armed Forces units abandoned its positions in the Bakhmut region. The businessman specified that the positions were vacated by the 72nd brigade of the Russian Defense Ministry. According to him, Russian soldiers left a strategic stronghold where around 500 Wagner mercenaries were killed.