Status: 11/07/2022 4:02 p.m
The day before the US midterm elections, the founder of the Russian Wagner mercenary group, Prigozhin, admitted to meddling in US elections. This will also happen in the future. The confidant of Russian President Putin did not give any details.
The Russian businessman and head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has admitted to meddling in US elections and said he would continue to do so in the future. “We interfered, we interfered and we will continue to interfere. Carefully, accurately, surgically and in our own way, since we know how to do it,” Prigozhin wrote in an entry on the online network VKontakte – dem Russian equivalent of Facebook. He is considered a confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin, which makes his statements even more explosive.
Interference “with caution, precision, surgically”
Prigozhin wrote that the interference was done “with caution, precision, surgically, in a manner that suits us.” According to the AFP news agency, the 61-year-old was apparently responding to a request to comment on a media report that Russia was interfering in the current midterm elections in the United States.
“During our pinpoint operations, we will remove both kidneys and the liver at once,” Prigozhin added, without clarifying the statement. Prigozhin’s statement came a day before the US midterm elections. This ballot, also known as the Midterms, elects all members of the House of Representatives, a third of the members of the Senate and numerous governors, and awards thousands of other political offices at state and local level.
“Troll factory” allegations
The US has been accusing Russia of interfering in elections for years and has therefore imposed sanctions on Prigozhin. The businessman, also known as “Putin’s cook,” is accused of using his “troll factory” to manipulate elections in several Western countries.
So-called trolls use fake profiles on online platforms to influence voters, for example by belittling candidates or spreading false information. In September, Prigozhin admitted to founding the Wagner mercenary group, which is fighting for Moscow on the front lines in Ukraine. The announcement led to speculation that Prigozhin would seek office in Russian politics. The Wagner group has long been suspected of promoting Russia’s interests abroad, although the Kremlin denies any connection.
In the so-called midterm elections in the middle of President Joe Biden’s term in office, all 435 seats in the US House of Representatives and about a third of the seats in the Senate will be up for grabs. Here in Columbus, Georgia, voters are lining up for an early vote.
Image: REUTERS
Prigozhin, a dozen other Russians and three Russian companies have been accused in the US of waging a covert campaign on social media ahead of the 2016 election to manipulate public opinion to foment strife and division. They were indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in 2018. In 2020, however, the US Department of Justice took steps to drop the charges against two of the accused companies. It argued that a trial of accused companies that had no presence in the US and for whom there was no prospect of significant punishment even if convicted was likely to reveal sensitive prosecution methods and techniques.
USA searched for relevant information
Prigozhin’s name is on the sanctions lists of the European Union, Great Britain and the USA. In July, the US State Department offered a reward of up to $10 million for information about Prigozhin in connection with alleged US election interference. According to a report by the Reuters news agency, he is the first person to be confronted with such allegations and to admit that he was influential.
Prigozhin is also known as “Putin’s cook”. His catering company has several contracts with the Kremlin. For years he stayed in the background. Only recently has he become more public, among other things with criticism of Russian generals for their warfare in Ukraine.