Russia's Wagner boss hints at 'betrayal' in Bakhmut battle

The caput of Russia's Wagner backstage service has said it is not getting the ammunition it needs from Moscow, arsenic it seeks to summation power of Bakhmut.

Russian troops - from Wagner and regular Russian forces - are trying to prehend the eastbound metropolis from Ukraine.

But Wagner brag Yevgeny Prigozhin has complained of a deficiency of ammunition, saying it could beryllium "ordinary bureaucracy oregon a betrayal".

Relations betwixt Wagner and Moscow look progressively tense.

In the station connected Sunday, Mr Prigozhin said documents were signed connected 22 February, with ammunition expected to beryllium sent to Bakhmut the adjacent day.

But astir has not been shipped, helium said, earlier suggesting it could beryllium deliberate.

Separately, successful a video posted connected Saturday - but seemingly filmed successful February - Mr Prigozhin said Russia's beforehand enactment would illness without his troops.

"If present Wagner PMC [private subject company] retreats from Bakhmut, past the full beforehand volition crumble, and contiguous PMC Wagner is cementing it.

"On the 1 hand, we are pulling the full Ukrainian service onto ourselves, grinding and destroying it, and bash not springiness it the accidental to ore successful different sectors of the front.

"On the different hand, we are moving guardant and the remainder [an evident notation to the Russian military] are forced to someway drawback up successful bid to prevention face."

Last month, Mr Prigozhin complained that Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov were withholding supplies of munitions to his troops.

In Saturday's video, helium said his men feared that they were being "set up" arsenic scapegoats if Russia mislaid its violative successful Ukraine.

"If we measurement back, past we volition spell down successful past everlastingly arsenic the radical who took the main measurement to suffer the war.

"And this is precisely the occupation with that aforesaid ammunition hunger."

On Saturday, the lawman politician of Bakhmut told the BBC that determination was thoroughfare warring betwixt Russian and Ukrainian forces.

However Oleksandr Marchenko said Russian troops had not yet gained control.

"They person nary extremity to prevention the city... their lone extremity is sidesplitting radical and the genocide of the Ukrainian people," Mr Marchenko told the Today programme.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian subject officials said leaders of Russia's 155th Brigade warring adjacent the municipality of Vuhledar, southbound of Bakhmut, resisted orders to onslaught aft sustaining terrible losses.

The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces had deed a bid centre of the Ukrainian Azov Regiment successful southeastern Zaporizhzhia region.