The leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigojine, said on Friday that his organization would train militiamen and build fortifications in two regions of Russia bordering Ukraine.
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“The private military company Wagner helps and will help the population of the border territories (of Ukraine) to receive training, build facilities, prepare people and organize militias,” Prigozhin was quoted as saying. the press department of his company Concord.
He did not publish more elements to prove his statements.
According to him, these new activities began in the Russian regions of Belgorod and Kursk, regularly hit in recent months by fire attributed by Moscow to the Ukrainian army.
The objective, according to Mr. Prigojine, is to build “fortified works and training centers for militiamen in the border regions”. ” Who wants peace prepares for war. You always have to be ready to defend your land,” he added.
Last week, the head of Wagner had already mentioned this project, assuring that he was going to finance it alone, without help from the Russian state.
Since 2014, mercenaries from the Wagner Group have been accused of serving the interests of Vladimir Putin’s regime in numerous conflict zones, ranging from Syria to Ukraine, via Africa and South America.
In recent months, the group has been actively operating on the Ukrainian front, in support of the Russian army. He is accused of having toured prisons in Russia to recruit prisoners to fight, in exchange for reduced sentences.
In September, 61-year-old Yevgeny Prigojine admitted having founded the paramilitary organization after years of denial. This week, he also bragged about having carried out electoral influence operations in the United States.
From now on, he operates fully in Russia with his face uncovered, a sign of a certain rise in power since the Kremlin offensive in Ukraine and the start of military mobilization in the country in the face of Moscow’s defeats on the front.
In October, Yevgeny Prigojine opened the “HQ” of the Wagner group in a glass building in Saint Petersburg.
The latter was officially inaugurated at the beginning of November, but Yevgeny Prigojine affirmed that the authorities of Saint Petersburg had refused to issue him an operating permit.
Faced with this refusal, Mr. Prigozhin accused Thursday the governor of Saint Petersburg, Alexander Beglov, of supporting the interests of “Ukrainian nationalists who kill Russians”. The two men have been at odds for a long time.