(Reuters) – Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Friday he had thanked the government for a “heroic” increase in production of ammunition but he was still worried about shortages for his fighters and the Russian army as a whole.
Prigozhin also said Wagner, which has taken heavy losses in fighting for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, had opened recruitment centres in 42 Russian cities.
“In spite of the colossal resistance of the Ukrainian armed forces, we will go forward. Despite the sticks in the wheels that are thrown at us at every step, we will overcome this together,” he said.
Prigozhin said his men had been “blown away” by the fact they had started to receive ammunition deliveries labelled as produced in 2023. He said ammunition was now being produced “in huge quantities, which cover all the necessary needs”.
But he appeared to contradict himself in the same audio message by saying: “I am worried about ammunition and shell shortages not only for the Wagner private military company but for all units of the Russian army.”
(Reporting by Mark Trevelyan and Caleb Davis; Editing by Gareth Jones)
