MOSCOW, RUSSIA: Yevgeny Prigozhin, who heads the ruthless Russian mercenary outfit the Wagner Group, has continued attacking Putin’s administration. In a recent video, he hit out at Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov and Minister of Defence Sergey Shoigu. He also indirectly let out his frustration on the ‘Grandpa’, a common reference to Putin among top officials. “We have a 'happy Grandpa.' But how do you win a war,' he asks sarcastically, 'if it turns out that this Grandpa is a complete d***head?”
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin has reacted to Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's move as 'treason' while addressing the Russian people on Saturday, June 24. He warned that the military leader had 'stabbed him in the back' as Moscow had been called under a complete lockdown amid the threat. Prigozhin is believed to have a 25,000-strong Wagner militia, which controls the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. As per the chief, his men are 'ready to die' as they vow revenge for a military strike from Putin's forces that caused the killing of several of his men, as per the Daily Mail report.
Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin's daughter?
Polina Prigozhin is the daughter of a Russian oligarch and former aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also heads the Wagner Group, the military arm of Russia. Polina’s mother is a pharmacist, Lyubov Valentinovna Prigozhina. She also has a younger sister Veronika, with whom she competed in several international showjumping events. Some of the countries they participated in outside Russia are Germany, France, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, and Spain.
'Soon we will have a new president''
Putin described the group's actions as 'equivalent to armed mutiny', and urged those involved to cease any armed resistance. While Wagner unit's HQ in St Petersburg was raided by Russian police, their head told the President that he was 'wrong' to accuse him of treason. Prigozhin sent a message claiming his men have infiltrated the Southern Defense Command in Rostov-on-Don and also now controls the city's airfield. On Wednesday, June 21, he sent the message, “Putin made the wrong choice. All the worse for him. Soon we will have a new president.”
However, there are not many options left for Prigozhin, if he returns home it would be nothing less than a death sentence. Staying in Bakhmut could be dangerous as well. The veteran could opt to fly to Mali or the Central African Republic to join his soldiers there, but he will have to make a lot of compromises to settle in with a completely new lifestyle.
