Afrigather Yegueni Prigozhin, a businessman near Russian President Vladimir Putin, admitted on Monday that in 2014 he created the Wagner Group, a non-public army firm, which is forbidden by regulation in Russia and can be current within the army marketing campaign in Ukraine.
“In 2014, when the genocide of the Russian inhabitants of the Dombash started (…) I, like many businessmen, went to the economic estates the place ‘Cossacks’ gathered and tried with cash to assemble a gaggle that may journey to defend the Russians,” the businessman revealed in a remark posted on the social community VKontakt.
Nonetheless, in his phrases, he quickly realized that half of the ‘Cossacks’ and paramilitaries had been fraudsters and that half of those that acquired the cash employed volunteers who had been despatched to sure dying with out gear.
“Then I went to one of many polygons and took care of it myself. I cleaned previous weapons myself, appeared on the challenge of bulletproof vests, and located specialists who helped me. At that second, on 1 Could 2014, the group of patriots was born, which later acquired the identify Wagner Group,” Prigozhin famous.
He confused that it was solely due to the braveness of the Wagner Group members that “the liberation of the Lugansk airport and lots of different territories” in japanese Ukraine was attainable.
“There have been troublesome instances, very troublesome instances. Each canine tried to throw slime on them and, as you understand, on me, accusing us of all kinds of non-existent sins,” the businessman added.
Unbiased Russian media have additionally revealed that Wagner mercenaries are presently combating on the facet of the Russian Armed Forces within the conflict in Ukraine.
Wagner Group members, Prigozhin stated, are “heroes who defended the Syrian folks and different peoples of Arab nations, underprivileged Africans and Latin Individuals, and have become one of many pillars of our homeland”.
Till just lately, the businessman sued journalists and anybody who linked him to the Wagner Group.
Prigozhin is nicknamed “Putin’s chef” due to his proximity to the Russian president and his restaurant enterprise.
In line with an investigation by Russian opposition determine Alexei Navalni in 2017, the businessman is alleged to have gained state contracts price a minimum of 2.5 billion euros, together with one to ship meals to the Russian military.
America sanctioned this oligarch for his function within the marketing campaign of interference and disinformation, particularly in opposition to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, within the 2016 presidential election, which was gained by Republican Donald Trump.
