Prigoshin announces missions in Africa

2023-08-22 18:41:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Yevgeni Prigoshin

About two months ago, Yevgeny Prigoshin marched on Moscow with his troop of mercenaries, then disappeared. Maybe in Belarus. But he now speaks again, with a "hot" message.

"The temperature is 50 degrees - just the way we want it to be," Yevgeni Prigoshin says in a video that shows him in camouflage, rifle in hand.

The 40-second clip was recorded in an African country, the Telegram channel "Grey Zone" reported.

He is close to the Wagner mercenary group. No more specific information was provided. The location of the recording could not be independently verified.

It is the first time the 62-year-old has spoken since the failure of a brief rebellion against the Kremlin in late June. Prigoshini says in the video that his Wagner troupe is carrying out intelligence work - and emphasizes: "This makes Russia even bigger on all continents. And Africa even freer." And to add that his mercenaries turn the lives of IS and Al-Qaeda members into a nightmare. The latter, known for their brutality, are active in several African countries.

In the video, Prigoshini further promotes recruits for his troop and declares that Wagner "will fulfill the missions given to him".

According to Reuters news agency, the video shows a phone number for those interested.

First the war in Ukraine, then a mini-revolt

Prigoshin's mercenaries fought for many months alongside the regular Russian army in the war against Ukraine that has been ongoing since February 2022. In late June, disillusioned with a Russian military command that he considered too ineffective, Prigoshin mobilized the people of him for a march towards Moscow, which he however stopped a few hours later after negotiations.

The Kremlin has promised Prigoshin impunity on condition that he emigrates to neighboring Belarus. Shortly after that, he reappeared in Russia, in the framework of the African summit in St. Petersburg at the end of July. He appeared there with a representative of the Central African Republic.

There have also been concerns recently that the West African country of Nigeria may be moving closer to Russia after its latest military coup. Prigoshini had welcomed the overthrow in Niger./DW