Wagner threatens to leave the Ukrainian front lines if it does not receive more support from the Russian government

Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, blasted the Russian government in two videos he sent from the Ukrainian front lines. This private military company is working to completely take over the Ukrainian town of Bajmut, which has been the scene of fierce fighting for months. In videos posted on social media, Prigozhin threatened the Kremlin to abandon the Bakhmut front lines if his mercenary troops do not receive more support. Prigozhin gave the Kremlin until May 10 to send him more ammunition.

In the first video, Prighzhin shows rows of dead Russian mercenaries lying on the ground. "Their blood is still warm," says the chief of Wagner. He then turns directly to the camera to deliver a message to the Putin regime. "Listen to me well, son of a b****. All these dead people are somebody's fathers and sons. But don't send us any more ammunition. They'll eat their guts in hell. F**k you. We're 70 percent short of ammunition," Prigozhin shouts into the camera. "Shoigu, Gerasimov - where the f**k is the ammunition?" he asks, addressing the chief of the Russian General Staff.

In a second video, Prigozhin gives an official statement on behalf of Wagner, surrounded by his troops, and in a more cordial and moderate tone. In the video, he warns that if they do not receive the artillery ammunition needed to hold out, his troops will abandon their posts on May 10 and let Russian regular troops occupy them instead. "If we can't solve this ammunition deficit, we'll have to retreat or die so we don't end up running away like rats in the end," the mercenary leader says in the video.

This is not the first time that tensions have arisen between the private military company and the Russian government. Prigozhin has already criticized the Defense Ministry several times on Telegram for its lack of support. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged Friday that he was aware of the messages sent by Prigozhin, but did not comment on them.

Wagner is Russia's largest private military company. It has personnel in different parts of the world and in recent years has become well known for closing contracts with African governments that allowed Russia to have a stronger influence in Africa. To support Russia in Ukraine, Wagner increased its staff and almost from the beginning of the conflict has had some autonomy in Ukraine. Prigozhin is one of the great Russian rulers, very close to the Kremlin and Putin.