Prigozhin Accuses Putin's Military Leaders of 'Genocide' Against Russians

Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin on Friday accused Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov of murdering Russian citizens amid Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine.

Prigozhin, who has been outspoken against the Russian defense ministry, claimed that Shoigu and Gerasimov handed over Russian territories to Ukraine, and said that he submitted a complaint to the Investigative Committee of Russia, according to BBC Monitoring reporter, Francis Scarr, who shared translated parts of the Wagner Group founder's Telegram post.

"...Gerasimov and Shoigu...must be held responsible for the genocide of the Russian people, the murder of tens of thousands of Russian citizens and the transfer of Russian territories to the enemy," Prigozhin wrote on Telegram. "Moreover, the transfer is deliberate, just like the murder of Russian citizens and genocide. Shoigu has a genocide on a national basis."

Russia continues to fight Ukraine in a war that was launched last February and extended to major cities, including Kyiv, Kherson, Odesa, and Bakhmut. Ukraine recently launched its counteroffensive, which has been bolstered by the West, to take back its territories. There is still no end to the war in sight, but Western nations, including NATO members, continue to provide military aid to the war-torn country.

On Friday, Prigozhin doubted Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine and claimed, in an interview he posted on Telegram, that the Russian Defense Ministry has been "deceiving" Putin and Russian citizens.

Over the past months, the Wagner Group leader has intensified his verbal feud against Shoigu.

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's minister of internal affairs, wrote on Twitter that Prigozhin's targeting of the defense ministry and Shoigu are "becoming wider and deeper."

"There was nothing extraordinary happening on the eve of February 24," Prigozhin said.

"The Ministry of Defense is trying to deceive the public and the president and spin the story that there were insane levels of aggression from the Ukrainian side and that they were going to attack us together with the whole NATO block," the Russian businessman said. "The special operation was started for a completely different reason."

Prigozhin's latest spat aimed at Shoigu comes with the disapproval of the defense ministry's order that members of "volunteer formations" such as the Wagner Group, a private military company fighting for Russia in Ukraine, sign contracts with the Russian Federation by July 1. The Wagner Group founder rejected the ministry's orders. The Wagner Group is among 40 volunteer formations, according to Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty.

Meanwhile, Putin said later during a meeting with pro-war bloggers that Shoigu's initiative "has to be done and it has to be done as quickly as possible." The move is "in line with common sense, with established practice and the law," Putin said.

Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov explained that the ministry's order aims to provide legal status to volunteer formations as they continue to sign contracts with mercenary groups so as long as they sign contracts with the defense ministry, according to Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty.

"The conclusion of contracts by citizens with the state is, first of all, the extension of social protection and support measures established by the state to them, as well as to their family members," Pankov explained.

Newsweek reached out by email to the Russian defense ministry for comment.