Wagner Group head Evgeny Prigozhin calls on Russian defense minister to come to Bakhmut

In a letter posted on Telegram Friday, Wagner paramilitary cartel founder Evgeny Prigozhin called on Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu to come to the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, where heavy fighting has been ongoing for more than nine months. The letter is dated May 11.

“Given the complex operational situation, as well as your many years of combat experience, I ask you to come to the territory of the settlement of Bakhmut, which is under the control of Russian paramilitary units, and to independently assess the current situation,” Prigozhin wrote.

The longtime catering tycoon also said in the invitation that Wagner forces currently control more than 95 percent of Bakhmut. He added that in the flanks, where Russian army units are stationed, “the enemy has made a number of successful counterattacks.”

On Thursday, Prigozhin accused Russian Defense Ministry troops of abandoning its positions “without a fight.”

Evgeny Prigozhin has made multiple public statements disparaging the Russian Defense Ministry in recent months, blaming the country’s military leadership for allegedly refusing to give Wagner Group the ammunition it needs to be successful in Bakhmut. On Tuesday, he said a Russian army brigade had abandoned a strategic bridgehead in the city, and just hours later, he released a video in which he referred to a “happy grandpa” on whom Russia’s future depends and who may turn out to be a “total dickhead.”