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Major headache for Vladimir Putin: Russian army's spat with his ‘chef’
The move is designed to increase the effectiveness of the Russian armed forces, the ministry said in a statement.
The head of Wagner Group hit back at the Russian defense ministry as the spat between the country's military and mercenary organizations in Ukraine widens. The Russian defense ministry said "volunteer formations" would need to sign contracts with Moscow by July 1, sanctioned by defense minister Sergei Shoigu. The move is designed to increase the effectiveness of the Russian armed forces, the ministry said in a statement.
The decree will likely target paramilitaries like Wagner Group- that plays a crucial role in Russian operations in eastern Ukraine especially Bakhmut. Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin- previously nicknamed “Putin's chef"- has been engaged in a long-running dispute with the Russian defense ministry and Moscow's military commanders. Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has become a vocal critic of the Russian establishment said, "Those orders and decrees that Shoigu forms, they apply to employees of the Ministry of Defense and to military personnel.
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The Wagner Group "will not sign any contracts with Shoigu," he continued adding that the mercenary organisation "coordinates its action" with the Russian military and "has the deepest experience" with a "highly effective structure."
"Shoigu cannot manage military formations," Yevgeny Prigozhin added.
Earlier, he had accused Shoigu and Russia's top commander general Valery Gerasimov of "high treason" by denying the group the resources it needed.
