Prigozhin still has value for Putin – CNN

Leader of the militants Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin is still important to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, but Prigozhin himself has plans for Wagnerian activities in Africa, where his position is at odds with the Kremlin, reports CNN, citing the experts and his own analysis.

CNN recalled that just weeks after the failed uprising, Prigozhin appeared on the sidelines of the recent Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg, where he shook hands with an official from the Central African Republic.

According to the publication, Prigozhin’s stay is in stark contrast to the imprisonment of oppositionists Vladimir Kara-Murza and Alexei Navalny on less significant charges than an attempted coup.

Experts believe that the head Wagner still has value for Putin, the newspaper wrote.

Director of Future Frontlines, the open-source intelligence service at the New America think tank, Candace Rondo believes that “Prigozhin’s shares in the Kremlin have clearly fallen, but since Putin lost more after the coup, it seems to he thinks there is some use. left to keep Prigogine close.”

Rondo said Prigozhin’s business acumen and his ability to hide commercial profits through an opaque web of front companies and offshore operations were an asset in Putin’s Russia, which has been hit by widespread sanctions in the Western economy.

“Currently, Prigozhin’s network of front companies is Putin’s best insurance to keep Russia’s war economy alive,” he said.

“But it is unlikely that this will continue forever – after all, something has to be done. And there is a high probability that when it does, we will see even more impressive developments closer to the border between Poland and Belarus ,” added the expert.

CNN also said that Prigozhin has plans for the African region, where Wagner has already conducted several operations.

Speaking after the armed men Wagner moving to Belarus, Prigogine suggested that he continue to focus on Africa.

“So that there are no secrets and behind-the-scenes conversations, I inform you that the group Wagner its activities continue in Africa, as well as in training centers in Belarus,” Prigozhin said.

Prigozhin’s forces were already involved in activities in Sudan, where Wagner provides militias fighting the Sudanese army, and is also active in the Central African Republic and Libya.

It could also manifest itself in Niger after the recent military coup. In a recent telegram message, Prigogine indicated that Wagner may be willing to offer their services there.

“What happened in Niger has been going on for years. The former colonialists are trying to keep the people of African countries under control. To keep them under control, the former colonialists are filling these countries with terrorists and various another bandit formation. Thus creating a massive security crisis,” – said the leader of the Wagnerites.

Remember, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov believes that the “rebellion” of the founder of the Russian private military company Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin was approved by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.