A regular Russian army officer who allegedly opened fire on a Wagner vehicle in Ukraine has reportedly been detained by the Wagner mercenary group, according to that group.
The officer claims in a video that the incident took place while he was intoxicated because he didn't like Wagner.
The leader of the group had earlier claimed that the roads Wagner used to leave Bakhmut had been mined by the Russian army.
Wagner and the regular army of Russia have had a history of conflict despite fighting on the same side.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the private military firm, has made several vicious attacks against some of Russia's top defense officials and frequently lamented the dearth of ammunition during the battle for Bakhmut in eastern Donetsk, Ukraine.
The Wagner group was in charge of the Russian side's fighting during this bloodiest and longest battle of the conflict.
It stated that it had full control of the city last month and would hand it over to the Russian army.
The Russian officer is seen being questioned about the incident in a video posted on the Telegram channel of Mr. Prigozhin's press office.
He claims in it that he shot at a Wagner vehicle while intoxicated because of his "personal animosity.".
In addition, he asserts that between 10 and 12 of his subordinates disarmed some Wagner fighters, though it's unclear if this occurred during the same incident.
When asked why he dislikes the Wagner group, he said, "I don't know.".
In a report published just before the video's release, Mr. Prigozhin claimed that organizations affiliated with the Russian defense ministry had allegedly detonated explosives on the roads leading out of Bakhmut, where Wagner fighters were attempting to flee.
When a journalist asked Mr. Prigozhin for evidence of the defence ministry's involvement in that incident, he responded by releasing the officer's video that had been taken while being detained.
He wrote, "Here is the cherry on the cake, so there is no doubt," even though the officer seems to be discussing a different incident.
The latest allegations are yet another indication of the tense relationship between the private military company—which suffered significant losses in the battle for Bakhmut—and Russia's defense ministry, even though it is challenging to verify the claims made by the Wagner group.
Asserting that the Russian army had lost control of some of its positions near Bakhmut, Mr. Prigozhin once more criticized the military's top brass on Monday. He called it a "disgrace.".
Sergei Shoigu, the defense minister, and Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff, he pleaded with to go to the front line and rally the troops, who he said were stealthily retreating.
You can do it, he said, and if you can't, you'll die a hero.
