Today, Monday, the head of the Russian private military group, “Wagner”, announced the capture of a Russian officer whose unit attacked his fighters, in a new indication of the tension between this armed group and the Russian military forces.
Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a report addressed to the Russian Ministry of Defense: “On May 17, members of the Ministry of Defense were seen laying mines on roads behind sites of Wagner units, and Wagner fighters who cleared mines came under fire from sites belonging to the Ministry of Defense.”
Prigozhin added in an audio message attached to the report: “An investigation is underway and there are many facts that cannot be revealed, but I am attaching here this preliminary report, evidence and video of what actually happened there.”
The “Wagner” commander recently broadcast a video clip of the interrogation of a captured Russian officer who identified himself as “Commander of the 72nd Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Roman Venevitinov.” In the video, the officer admitted that he attacked the Wagner group and that he “acted drunk, motivated by personal hatred.”
Last Friday, Prigozhin announced that Wagner’s forces withdrew from the city of Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine, by 99%, and handed over their positions to the Russian army, after declaring control of the city on May 20.