Russia's top military brass and an infamous mercenary leader are feuding over who gets credit for taking back a Ukrainian town
- The Russian army and mercenary organization Wagner Group have both claimed credit for taking a Ukrainian town.
- Wagner Group's leader shared a post trashing Russia's claims about a rare battlefield victory.
Russia claims it scored a rare victory in the war against Ukraine. But credit for who actually did the fighting is up for grabs.
Infamous mercenary organization Wagner Group is feuding with the Russian military over who should get the praise for seizing control of Soledar, a town in eastern Ukraine.
Russia's defense ministry said on Friday that its forces had captured the salt-mining town, killing over 700 Ukrainian troops and destroying more than 300 Ukrainian weapons systems over the past three days of battle, according to state media.
Russia did not make any mention of Wagner, the paramilitary organization helping Russia fight in Ukraine.
Wagner's founder Yevgeny Prigozhin wasn't happy with the apparent snub.
Earlier this week, Prigozhin claimed in a statement that his troops had taken control of Soledar, emphasizing that Russia's formal army had nothing to do with it.
And again on Friday, Prigozhin posted a Telegram statement that "Soledar was taken solely by the efforts of the fighters of the Wagner PMC."
"And there is no need to offend the fighters by humiliating their merit," the statement shared by Prigozhin added. "You are demotivating them. We must fight, and not compete in whose dick is bigger and steal other people's merits."
Even whether Soledar has actually been seized in the first place is unclear.
Reuters reported that a spokesperson for Ukraine's eastern military denies that Soledar has fallen to Russian forces. If confirmed, the seizure of Soledar would be Russia's biggest advancement in the war since July, according to Reuters.
Wager founder Prigozhin has a history of beefing with the Russian army. He has previously backed up one of his soldier's complaints about inadequate support and supplies from the central army.
While Prigozhin has denied this incident, his ongoing public statements have left little doubt about the way he feels regarding the traditional military establishment's progress in Ukraine.
Translations by Oleksandr Vynogradov