The founder of the so-called Wagner PMC, Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, has threatened Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu that Wagner's men will leave Bakhmut if the problem of ammunition shortage is not resolved.
Prigozhin said this in an interview with "military commander" Semyonov Pegov, which was brought to the attention of the Vazhnye Istori publication.
"If the shortage of ammunition is not replenished, we will be forced to leave in an organized manner, so as not to run like cowardly rats and either leave or be left to die. Most likely, we will have to withdraw some units from this territory," he said.
Prigozhin said that he had set April 28 as the deadline for Shoigu. The interview itself was published on Pegov's channel on April 29.
According to Prigozhin, the Ukrainian Armed Forces offensive will begin no later than May 15 and could lead to catastrophic consequences for Russia. He also said in the interview that Wagner's PMC "will cease to exist after some time."
Background. Earlier, the Institute for the Study of War reported that Putin allegedly intends to "take" Bakhmut by May 9, and for this purpose he has again improved relations with Prigozhin.