Russian ex-deputy defence minister joins Wagner as feud escalates – war bloggers

Russian pro-war social media announced Thursday that former deputy defence minister Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev has joined the Wagner Group private militia as a deputy commander.

Mizintsev, wearing Wagner-branded military gear, visited a training camp and Russian positions in Bakhmut, east Ukraine, in two Telegram videos released by war writer Alexander Simonov.

Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin released two video remarks, passionately accusing the defense establishment of starving his soldiers of ammunition out of jealously.

Prigozhin has praised individual commanders while criticizing the military and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.

After his alleged dismissal by the Defence Ministry, Prigozhin’s press service offered to take on Mizintsev on April 29.

Last September, Mizintsev became deputy defence minister in charge of logistics and supplies after leading the siege of Mariupol in the early months of the war.

Grey Zone, Wagner’s popular Telegram channel, claimed that Mizintsev was “not the first and obviously not the last general who was out of place amid the bureaucracy and sycophancy”.

In June, the EU sanctioned Mizintsev, branding him the “Butcher of Mariupol” for his role in the siege that ravaged the city. Prigozhin did not immediately respond.