Ukraine’s military intelligence reported on Friday (30) that Russia plans to kill the leader of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, after last weekend’s mutiny that ended with the retreat of the paramilitary group and the exile of its leader. in Belarus.
The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said in an interview with the War Zone website that Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), one of the KGB’s successors, was tasked with liquidating Prigozhin.
“Anyway, all those potential assassination attempts won’t be now. It will take some time for them to have the right approaches and get to the stage where they are ready to run a big operation,” Budanov told War Zone.
“But again, I would like to emphasize that it is a big open question. Would they be successful in fulfilling this? Would they dare to carry out this order?” asked the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence.
Between last Friday (23) and Saturday (24), the Wagner Group advanced into Russian territory after the militia leader claimed that Kremlin troops had attacked their positions. The mercenary group was helping Russia in the war against Ukraine, but Prigozhin had been publicly criticizing the Russian military command for several months, claiming a lack of support.
Wagner gave up the mutiny when its fighters reached about 200 km from Moscow, and through an agreement brokered by the dictator Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin accepted exile in Belarus. A lawsuit filed against him due to the rebellion was withdrawn.
Budanov added in the interview that Prigozhin should not promote a large concentration of Wagner fighters in Belarus, but rather establish a center for logistical and recruitment purposes in the Kremlin-allied country.
“And what will happen next is that most of the personnel that were previously involved in fighting in Ukraine will gradually be transferred to Africa to continue operations there,” added Budanov, citing the continent where Wagner has a history of operating, in countries such as Mali, Central African Republic and Sudan.
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