Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin the owner of Wagner Group Russia?

Yevgeny Prigozhin is a Russian businessman and entrepreneur. He is the self-proclaimed founder of the tainted Kremlin-connected private military contractor Wagner Group.

Prigozhin stated on September 26, 2022, that he founded the Wagner Group specifically to support Russian forces in the Donbas War in May 2014. Their activities have since expanded to include many regions in Africa and the Middle East.

Wagner launched an attack on US-backed Kurdish forces in Syria in February 2018 in an attempt to seize an oil field. During the US military’s retaliatory air strike, 10-100 of its mercenaries were killed.

The group was linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with members allegedly being ordered to assassinate Ukrainian leaders. In the United States, Prigozhin, his companies, and associates face economic sanctions and criminal charges, and he remains a sanctioned person in the United Kingdom. The FBI is also offering a reward of up to $250,000 for information leading to Prigozhin’s arrest.