Moscow [Russia], May 8: Russia's Wagner Group of mercenaries says it has been promised ammunition it demanded, along with reinforcements, following a threat by its leader to withdraw from the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut due to a lack of supplies from Moscow.
"We have been promised as much ammunition and weapons as are needed to continue the fighting," Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said on his Telegram channel on Sunday.
Protection of the group's flanks by Russian regulars as it battles through the devastated city has also been guaranteed.
Prigozhin said that coordination between the mercenaries and Russian army units was under the command of General Sergei Surovikin.He described the general as "the only person with a general's star who understands anything about fighting."
There was no immediate response from the Kremlin.
In a major break with Russian leadership, Prigozhin announced in an angry video on Friday that he would pull his fighters from the contested city of Bakhmut after having complained repeatedly over a lack of ammunition from Moscow.
Earlier on Sunday, he said his private forces will continue to fight on behalf of Moscow even after they withdraw from Bakhmut. "The Wagner fighters will be preserved for the next operations in Russia's interests," he was quoted as saying by Russian state media.
Often described as Vladimir Putin's private army, Wagner has been used in Russian military operations in multiple countries.
Source: Qatar Tribune