Fired ‘Butcher of Mariupol’ Russian common joins Wagner mercenaries
A notoriously ruthless Russian common dubbed “the Butcher of Mariupol” has reportedly joined the Wagner mercenary group as a deputy commander, simply days after being axed from a high-powered navy publish, based on a blogger.
Russian pro-war correspondent Alexander Simonov shared videos on his Telegram channel that purport to point out Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev — who till not too long ago served as deputy protection minister for logistics – visiting a coaching camp and touring Russian positions within the metropolis of Bakhmut in jap Ukraine.
Within the movies, the 60-year-old commander, whose brutal techniques in Ukraine have earned him the moniker “the Butcher of Mariupol,” is seen sporting fatigues bearing Wagner Group insignia.
One of many movies reveals Mizintsev deep in dialog with a uniformed man believed to be a Wagner fighter discussing fight techniques and evaluation of errors after battles.
Information of Mizintsev’s new gig with the Wagner Group coincides with the discharge of two video statements by the paramilitary group’s founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who vowed to withdraw his fighters from Bakhmut on Might 10 after greater than eight months of bloody combating.
Prigozhin directed a foul-mouthed rant at Russia’s navy brass, accusing high-ranking officers of denying his forces ample ammunition all through the battle due to “petty jealousy” of their success on the battlefield.
In one of many movies, a visibly shaken Progozhin confirmed a pile of bloodied corpses he stated belonged to his slain fighters and blamed their deaths on lack of ammunition.
Whereas Prigozhin has recurrently lashed out at Protection Minister Sergei Shoigu for incompetence, he has singled out particular person commanders for reward.
On April 29, the day after Mizintsev’s firing from the Protection Ministry, Prigozhin’s press service stated he had supplied to rent the veteran common.
Mizintsev, who has greater than 4 a long time of navy expertise, was handed a pink slip simply eight months after being tapped by the Kremlin to exchange Gen. Dmitry Bulgakov, who has been blamed for bungling the preliminary invasion of Ukraine.
Mizintsev was stated to be instantly chargeable for overseeing a few of the most heinous atrocities in the course of the first months of the struggle in Ukraine, together with an airstrike in Mariupol that leveled a maternity hospital, killing a pregnant lady and her unborn child.
The overall additionally reportedly ordered the bombing of a Mariupol theater the place a whole lot of civilians, together with many youngsters, have been sheltering in the course of the brutal, months-long siege of the town, leaving at the least 300 lifeless.
In March, Mizintsev was sanctioned by the British authorities for his “reprehensible” actions in Mariupol.
Beforehand, Mizintsev was allegedly chargeable for the siege of Aleppo in Syria, the place he ordered cluster-bomb strikes on residential areas.