Surovikin, who has a reputation for ruthlessness praised by Wagner, was named military commander in Ukraine in October. "He is the only decorated general that knows how to fight," Prigozhin said in a fresh dig at Russia's other army chiefs. On Sunday, Prigozhin said Russian General Sergei Surovikin, who is one of Gerasimov's deputies, would oversee Wagner's operations. Still, the emotive language used in Friday's videos and the personal criticism of the leaders of Russia's campaign in Ukraine were unprecedented. Prigozhin has for months accused the conventional army of refusing to deliver ammunition to his men. Kadyrov, who has ruled Russia's Muslim-majority republic Chechnya for the last decade-and-a-half, said his men were "ready to move" toward Bakhmut. On Saturday, he asked Moscow to let him hand over his positions to Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov. "They came here as volunteers and they are dying so you can get fat in your wood-panelled offices," he said. In one video, Prigozhin was seen showing rows of what he said were dead Wagner fighters. "Their unprofessionalism is destroying tens of thousands of Russian guys and that is unforgivable," he said at the time. On Friday, he threatened to pull out of Bakhmut on May 10, in a series of blistering, heavily bleeped-out videos, blaming Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov for "tens of thousands" of Russian casualties. His group has been assured "that everything necessary will be provided," he added. they promised to give us all the ammunition and armaments we need to continue the operations" in Bakhmut, Prigozhin said. It comes as Russia has reported increasing drone strikes and sabotage, amid speculations of an expected spring counteroffensive from Ukraine. Rivalries between Yevgeny Prigozhin and the conventional army came to the surface during the battle for the eastern Ukrainian town, where Wagner is leading the assault. The head of the Wagner mercenary group said Sunday Russia had promised his fighters enough ammunition to stay in Bakhmut, after threatening to pull out in scathing videos.
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