Read on Twitter
#Wagner's #Prigozhin & Chechen leader #Kadyrov may have compelled #Russia's theater commander in #Ukraine Gen #Gerasimov to resume artillery ammunition distribution to Wagner forces in #Bakhmut despite the latter's desired de-prioritization of that effort. isw.pub/UkrWar050723 
2/ Prigozhin announced on May 7 that he had obtained a document from the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) that promised to supply Wagner forces with the ammunition and weapons necessary to maintain offensive operations in Bakhmut.
3/ Prigozhin has not published the official document and ISW cannot verify Prigozhin’s claims at this time. The Russian MoD likely has not fundamentally changed its intention of deprioritizing offensive operations & conserving munitions across the theater, a we recently assessed.
4/ Prigozhin and Kadyrov likely effectively blackmailed the Russian MoD into allocating resources to Wagner forces in Bakhmut by threatening to pull Kadyrov’s Chechen forces from other parts of the theater to relieve Wagner forces in Bakhmut.
5/ Prigozhin also claimed that the MoD gave Wagner complete freedom of operations in Bakhmut and appointed Army General Sergey Surovikin as an intermediary between the MoD and Wagner.
6/ Such actions would indicate that Gerasimov and possibly Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu lack the ability to command Prigozhin and Kadyrov as subordinates but must instead negotiate with them as peers.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
