Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin says fighters will not sign any contracts with the Russian army

The chief of the feared mercenary group Wagner has resisted an attempt by Russia’s defense minister to take over the ranks as a bitter feud between the private force and Moscow appears to be coming to a head.

Yevgeny Prigozhin said today that his fighters would not sign any contracts with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, publicly defying ostensible efforts to rein in his influence.

Prigozhin has repeatedly attacked President Vladimir Putin’s military leadership for what he considers treason, criticizing him for not fighting the war in Ukraine properly and taunting him for coming to the front.

Tensions with Moscow escalated last week when mercenaries kidnapped a front-line Russian general, who admitted to being drunk on duty in a humiliating video after allegedly shooting at a Wagner vehicle.

A video later emerged of the general, Roman Venevitin, accusing Wagner of torturing Putin’s soldiers and Prigozhin of discrediting the military – a crime for which he could be imprisoned.

In Friday’s video, which was allegedly orchestrated by Russian military leaders after Venevitin was released, he said of Prigozhin: “You are involved in actively discrediting the Russian armed forces.

‘I [am speaking] to convey the truth about what happened to the Russian public, to tell some facts about the so-called Wagner,” he said. “Honor demands that I do this.”

This claim, which Venevitin appears to be reading from a script, indicates that authorities are trying to dissuade Prigozhin, who dismissed allegations of his troops’ violence against Russian ranks as “absolute nonsense.”

Now the Russian Defense Ministry has urged all “volunteer detachments” to sign contracts with the Defense Ministry by the end of the month, a move the ministry says would increase the effectiveness of the Russian military.

Although the ministry did not name Wagner in its public statement, Russian media reported that it was an attempt by Shoigu to push the mercenaries to their limits.

“Wagner will not sign any contracts with Shoigu,” Prigozhin said in response to a request for comment on the matter. The order, he said, did not apply to Wagner.

Prigozhin said Wagner was completely subservient to Russia’s interests, but his highly efficient chain of command would be damaged by reporting to Shoigu.

“Shoigu cannot manage military formations well,” Prigozhin said, adding that Wagner coordinated his actions in Ukraine with General Sergei Surovikin, dubbed “General Armageddon” by Russian media.

The Defense Department said that in the interest of increasing the effectiveness of “volunteer detachments” all such units – or their men – should sign a contract with the Defense Department before July 1.

It did not mention Wagner by name, but it routinely refers to Wagner as “voluntary assault detachments.”

“This will give the volunteer formations the necessary legal status, create a unified approach to the organization of comprehensive services and the fulfillment of their duties,” the ministry said.

“These measures will increase the combat capabilities and effectiveness of the armed forces and their volunteer detachments,” said Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov.

Prigozhin said the ministry could use non-compliance with the order as a reason to deprive Wagner of supplies.

“What might happen after this order is that they won’t give us weapons and ammunition. We’ll work it out, as they say,’ Prigozhin said.

“But when the thunder breaks, they come running and bring weapons and ammunition with a request for help.”

Wagner mercenaries have fought for Putin in Ukraine and are said to have taken the embattled city of Bakhmut from Ukrainian forces after months of bloody warfare.

But their success has seemingly angered mainstream Russian army commanders.

Wagner chief Prigozhin has launched several verbal diatribes against Putin’s military leaders.

He has accused them of ordering their troops to withdraw from their positions, leaving the Wagner fighters unprotected on the front lines.

In a furious diatribe late last month, Prigozhin shouted vulgar insults at Russian defense officials, describing them as “stinking bastards” and “b******.”

And last week he called it a “disgrace” that Kiev’s troops were able to push back Russian lines and take Berkhivka, a town on the northern outskirts of Bakhmut.

He lashed out at Sergei Shoigu and army chief Valery Gerasimov, taunting them and urging them to go to the front lines and see the failures for themselves as the armed factions move toward civil war.

‘Now part of the settlement of [Berkhivka] is already lost, the troops are slowly falling back. What a shame!

“Shoigu, Gerasimov, I urge you to come forward, point your pistols at your men to make them advance. Come on, you can!

“And if you can’t, you’ll die heroes.”

In another notable development that could enrage Russian military leaders, Prigozhin suggested he is ready to deploy his men on Russian soil.

He said through Telegram that Wagner was ready to fight against insurgent forces in the Belgorod region.

Despite massive casualties and a ban on recruiting prisoners from Russia’s penal colonies, Prigozhin is said to still have up to 60,000 men at his disposal.

Wagner is one of many private armies in Russia. Chechen warlord leader Ramzan Kadyrov himself heads a heavily armed group, and Russian energy giant Gazprom has set up its own private military company.