The Russian mercenary group Wagner is notorious. After all, the fighters don't hesitate and proceed with extreme severity. Yevgeny Prigozhin - also known as "Putin's cook" - has long denied his connections to the mercenaries. Now he is less tight-lipped.
Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, known for his close ties to President Vladimir Putin, has claimed responsibility for founding the Wagner mercenary group and has confirmed its operations in countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. 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 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. There they are said to have committed numerous crimes against humanity.
Prigozhin further explained: "And now a confession (...) 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."
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. The Wagner troupe itself only recently made headlines because they increasingly recruited prisoners for the Ukraine war in Russian prison camps. Prigozhin is said to have personally campaigned for recruits in a camp.
Prigozhin himself was for a time one of the suppliers of the Kremlin's kitchens, earning him the nickname "Putin's Chef". He entertained high state guests and the President and also became a kind of commissary for the Russian army. He was also the head of a notorious troll factory in Russia. In Soviet times he himself was in prison for years for robbery, fraud and prostitution of minors.
