Dozens of Wagner Group mercenaries massacred in a single day after ‘running out of ammo’ in latest humiliation for Putin
DOZENS of Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group have been massacred after running out of ammunition, the private army’s head has claimed.
Yevgeny Prigozhin posted a macabre picture showing the corpses of the fighters, who died in the brutal battle for the city of Bakhmut, which Ukrainian soldiers referred to as "hell on earth”.
The Wagner Group have been at the spearhead in the battles in recent weeks with Prigozhin using its soldiers as cannon fodder in suicidal human wave attacks in the Ukraine war.
Prigozhin – a key ally of Vladimir Putin – operates separately to the main Russian army.
And he has attempted to boast the limited successes of his troops in what is seen as a bid to increase his own power.
The warlord is even seen as a potential successor to Putin - and is believed to be part of a power struggle raging in the Kremlin.
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In a video he said “this is one of the places for gathering the dead” adding “these are guys who died yesterday because” of the lack of shells.
The man nicknamed 'Putin’s chef' said “the number should have been five times smaller”.
“Five times. So mothers, wives and children will receive their bodies,” he said.
“Who is to blame for their death? Those who should have decided to supply us with sufficient quantities of ammunition.”
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He directly blamed defence minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of staff General Valery Gerasimov for their deaths.
"The final signature must be put either by Gerasimov or Shoigu. Neither of them wants to make a decision."
In turn, the defence ministry hit back saying his complaints were “completely untrue” and listed the ammunition provided to Wagner Group troops.
Pictures show even the main Russian forces are struggling for images, with pictures appearing to show rusting shells and bullets.
Putin's forces across the board are understood to be suffering from shortages.
Many in the 50,000 strong are violent convicts recruited from Russian prisons and count murderers and rapists in their ranks.
They have largely been involved in Russia's eastern offensive, including in the bloodiest battles for Soledar and Bakhmut.
Recent footage from inside a trench shows a Ukrainian soldier gunning down a Wagner mercenary.
The mercenaries are notoriously brutal and has been showcasing its gruesome methods of torture and execution of its own fighters they claim have committed "treason".
Their methods have included cutting off fingers, castrations, skinned prisoners alive or bludgeoned them with a sledgehammer.
In the summer, Prigozhin was reported to have personally been scouring Russia's penal colonies for lags willing to trade frontline fighting in exchange for their freedom after six months.
For thousands that signed up, this freedom eluded them as the badly-trained and ill-equipped recruits took on heavy losses on Ukraine's frozen frontlines.
But Prigozhin ambitions and outspokenness are set to lead to his downfall after he plotted a coup against Putin, who now plans to kill him, it’s claimed.
He attempted to launch a coup with former army chief General Sergey Surovikin, nicknamed ‘General Armageddon’ and Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov.
Details of the coup have been leaked to Russian human rights activist Vladimir Osechkin, who said the initial plotting began back in September.
Now a vengeful Putin is plotting to have him killed, claims Osechkin.
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He said “judging by the methods Putin uses, a purge is most likely awaiting him” and “I have no basis to think Prigozhin will survive until the end of this year”.
“He knows too much, he is complicit in too much and for Putin it is very important that he disappears forever and takes those secrets with him,” said Osechkin.
