The head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigoyine, said on Friday that a “former general” of the American marines is part of this private army, whose recruits mainly fight in Ukraine.
In response to a question from the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, the Russian businessman replied: “There are not many Finnish citizens at Wagner PMC, about 20 people. For obvious reasons I can’t give you any specifics.” “I have a very good opinion of the Finns on the battlefield. They are fighting within a British battalion (part of Wagner) commanded by an American citizen, a former Marine Corps general,” Prigojine added, as quoted by his company Concord’s press service.
Wagner and the ambitions of the Kremlin
Yevgeny Prigoyine, nicknamed “Putin’s chef” because of his catering company’s contracts with the Kremlin, has a reputation for becoming a billionaire thanks to public contracts. It is subject to sanctions by the European Union and the United States. In September, he first revealed that he founded Wagner in 2014 to fight in Ukraine and acknowledged the mercenary organization’s presence in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.
For years, Wagner has been suspected of complicity in the Kremlin’s ambitions, including in Ukraine, where fighters from the paramilitary group have been on the front lines during the February offensive.
At the beginning of November, Wagner opened its first headquarters in Saint Petersburg, the second largest city in Russia.