 Wagner chief blames Russian government for not defending Belgorod. Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozin blamed the Kremlin for failing to defend the region of Belgorod from incursions by Russian fighters serving in the Ukrainian armed forces. Prigozin was referring to the freedom of Russian legion formed weeks after Russia's invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022 and the Russian volunteer corps who crossed into Russia's Belgorod region located near the Ukrainian border and claimed to have seized the village of Kozinka and the small town of Gravoron. There is a lack of management and public funding has been slashed. Prigozin, whose mercenaries have been heavily involved in the ongoing war in Ukraine, said in an audio message on the Telegram channel belonging to his company Concord. Some government officials are playing the fool, he said, according to Newsweek. There is no governance, no desire and no individuals who are ready to defend their country. I spoke about this many times in both the Belgorod and Kursk regions, said Prigozin. The main intelligence directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine confirmed that the two groups had entered the Belgorod region. It said they were carrying out an operation to create a security zone to protect civilian Ukrainians.