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The man infamously known as ‘Putin’s Cook’ and head of the notorious ‘Wagner Group’, a Russian private security firm, has been shown participating in talks with a Libyan military delegation sent to Moscow for discussions with the Kremlin on November 7.
Russian independent news outlet Novaya Gazeta reported Yevgeney Prigozhin is shown in the video below discussing the situation in-country with the Libyan officials and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
Prigozhin earned the ‘Putin’s Cook’ nickname as he owns several hi-level catering firms in Moscow and has secured contracts from the Russian Defense Ministry to feed Russian military forces.
His Wagner Group, which most analysts tag as a mercenary force, has been documented operating in East Ukraine, Syria, and the Central African Republic. Several Russian journalists were killed in the CAR earlier in the year as they attempted to report on the activities of the group. Mercenaries are illegal under Russian law.
Russian Journalists’ Killing May Shed Light On Kremlin’s African Ambitions Via Mercenaries
Interfax and RIA Novosti news agencies on November 10 quoted an unidentified “military and diplomatic source” as confirming the authenticity of the video and saying Prigozhin was present in his capacity as the event’s caterer.
“Well-known Russian restauranteur Yevgeny Prigozhin has made arrangements for a meeting between the Russian and Libyan top military officials in the Russian Defense Ministry,” the source was quoted as saying by Interfax.
“He arranged an official dinner and took part in the discussion of the cultural program of the Libyan delegation’s visit, reported RFERL.
Prigozhin also runs the Internet Research Agency which has been indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller for interfering in the U.S. 2016 presidential election.
Prigozhin has also been sanctioned by the United States for his alleged involvement in Russia’s 2014 annexation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea and Moscow’s military support of separatist formations in eastern Ukraine, added RFERL.
Perhaps the most interesting and least reported incident regarding the Wagner Group was the killing of hundreds of its members by American air power in Syria in February of this year. Tsarizm has reported extensively on the incident.
“Russians Killed In Battle With US In Syria”: This Story Is Much Bigger Than Reported
Pompeo Confirms American Air Power Killed Hundreds Of Russians In Syria
WAGNER in Libya ? Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin was also present in the Moscow visit of General Haftar ! Indicted by @TheJusticeDept as the financial backer of the “Internet Research Agency”, Prigozhin also controls the PMC Wagner ЧВК Вагнера paramilitary group.? @novaya_gazeta pic.twitter.com/zy7kKmZFDF
— Yörük Işık (@YorukIsik) November 10, 2018
