Status: 09/26/2022 11:45 a.m
He had repeatedly denied connections to the Wagner group – now the Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigoschin has confirmed that he founded the mercenary group. He also named the group’s operations, including in Syria.
The Russian entrepreneur Yevgeny Prigozhin, known for his close ties to President Vladimir Putin, has known about the founding of the mercenary group Wagner – and has confirmed its operations in countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
First missions in the Ukrainian Donbass
He founded the group in May 2014 to send fighters to the Ukrainian Donbass, Prigozhin said in a statement from his company. From this point on, “a group of patriots” was born, which “later received the name Battalion Tactical Group Wagner”.
Prigozhin went on to say: “These guys, heroes, defended the Syrian people, other peoples in Arab countries, the disadvantaged in Africa and Latin America, they have become a pillar of our fatherland.”
In 2011, entrepreneur and restaurant owner Yevgeny Prigozhin (left) served food to then Prime Minister Putin in his restaurant near Moscow (archive photo). For a time, Prigozhin was one of the suppliers of the Kremlin’s kitchens, earning him the nickname “Putin’s Chef.”
Image: Misha Japaridze/Pool/AP/dpa
Involved in many different conflicts
Prigozhin had repeatedly denied connections to the Wagner group. Several Western states and Russian media had accused Prigozhin of financing the Wagner Group. Wagner fighters had been observed in Syria, Libya, Ukraine and Central Africa, among other places.
For years, the paramilitary Wagner group has been suspected of working in secret for the Kremlin at various conflict sites. Moscow has always denied this and denied any connection with paramilitary groups. Prigozhin himself was for a time one of the suppliers of the Kremlin’s kitchens, earning him the nickname “Putin’s Chef”.