Russia: Yevgeny Prigojine confirms having founded the paramilitary group Wagner
Businessman Yevgueni Prigojine, August 9, 2016, during a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Saint Petersburg.
AP - Alexander Zemlianichenko
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
The Russian Evguéni Prigojine, nicknamed Putin's cook, admits being the founder of the Wagner mercenary group, the armed wing of the Kremlin.
It was no longer a secret to anyone, but this is the first time that the person concerned confirms "officially".
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On the social networks of his company Concord, the Russian businessman, Evguéni Prigojine, says he founded the paramilitary group in order to send competent fighters to the Ukrainian Donbass in 2014
. On May 1, 2014, a group of patriots was born which took the name of the Wagner Battalion Tactical Group
,” he says.
He also acknowledged the presence of these men in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America: "
And now a confession (...) these guys, heroes, defended the Syrian people, other people of Arab countries , the African and Latin American poor, they have become a pillar of our homeland
,” he said.
Video
The paramilitary group had been suspected for years of carrying out the Kremlin's low works in the shadows in various theaters of operation, which Moscow had always denied.
And Yevgeny Prigojine, once suppliers to the Kremlin kitchens, was suspected of being its financier.
Since mid-September, however, there was no longer any doubt that the businessman close to the Kremlin was indeed at the head of this group after the broadcast of a video on social networks where he appeared haranguing prisoners in a center penitentiary in Russia: "
If you want to get out of prison now, you can, in exchange for which you must give six months of your time to participate in the war effort on the Ukrainian front
".
This document also confirmed that his militia was recruiting many prisoners in Russia to make them fight in Ukraine.
► To read also:
Wagner video: "Vladimir Putin's regime is killing the private militia card"
(
with
AFP)
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Russia
Defense
Vladimir Poutine