On Monday, the 21st of August, Wagner’s Yevgeny Prigozhin published the first video since the failed coup in Russia at the end of June, hinting that he is in Africa, reports Reuters.
The video, originally posted on Telegram channels, shows Prigozhin standing in a desert area in combat gear. Other armed men and a pickup truck are seen in the distance. It has not been possible to determine the geographical location of the video or to verify the date of its shooting, but Prigozhin’s comments and posts on pro-Wagner Telegram channels suggest that it was shot in Africa, writes Reuters.
Progozhin releases his first post-putsch video — from the Sahel. He says he is making Russia great again in Africa and doesn’t mind the 50 degree (centigrade) heat. pic.twitter.com/RUJw59NTBc
— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) August 21, 2023
In the video, Prigozhin says the temperature is +50°C – just the way he likes it. He stresses that the Wagner PMC will expand Russian forces to all continents and make Africa “more free”.
“Justice and happiness for the people of Africa. For ISIS, Al-Qaeda and other gangsters, we make life a nightmare,” Prigozhin says in the video.
Adding that the Wagner group is recruiting new fighters, and
the group continues to carry out its tasks.
The video also includes a phone number for those who want to join the group.
Prigozhin has not come out publicly since the June coup, which lasted only 24 hours. After the attempted coup, the Kremlin announced that he and some of his fighters who had taken part in the Ukrainian war would go to Belarus. Since then, some of Wagner’s fighters have moved to Belarus and started training the army there.
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