Voice of America
26 Sep 2022, 17:36 GMT+10
London - Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Monday that he had founded the Wagner Group private military company in 2014, the first public confirmation of a link he has previously denied and sued journalists for reporting.
The Wagner Group, staffed by veterans of the Russian armed forces, has fought in Libya, Syria, the Central African Republic and Mali, among other countries.
The press service of Prigozhin's Concord catering firm posted his comments on the social network VKontakte in response to a request for comment from a Russian news site on why he had stopped denying his links to Wagner.
'I cleaned the old weapons myself, sorted out the bulletproof vests myself and found specialists who could help me with this. From that moment, on May 1, 2014, a group of patriots was born, which later came to be called the Wagner Battalion,' Prigozhin said.
'I am proud that I was able to defend their right to protect the interests of their country,' he said in the statement.
Prigozhin's Concord catering firm confirmed to Reuters that the statement was genuine.
Prigozhin, known as 'Putin's chef' due to his company's Kremlin catering contracts, has been sanctioned by the United States and European Union for his role in Wagner.
They also accuse him of funding a troll farm known as the Internet Research Agency that Washington says tried to influence U.S. elections.
Prigozhin has previously sued outlets including investigative website Bellingcat, Russian news site Meduza and now-shuttered radio station Echo of Moscow for reporting his links to Wagner.
Wagner was founded in 2014 after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and started providing support to pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.
Get a daily dose of Illinois Intelligencer news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Illinois Intelligencer.
More InformationTORONTO, Canada: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced late on June 29 that trade negotiations with the U.S. have recommenced...
Washington [US], July 5 (ANI): United States President Donald Trump said on Friday that Iran has not agreed to inspections of its nuclear...
By Rajnish Singh New Delhi, [India], July 5 (ANI): Nehal Deepak Modi, the brother of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, allegedly played...
Washington [US], July 5 (ANI): Elon Musk is threatening Republicans who voted for President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill,' posing...
Kabul [Afghanistan], July 5 (ANI): A UN official reported that Iran has accused hundreds of Afghan migrants of spying, raising concerns...
Beirut [Lebanon], July 5 (ANI): Israel has carried out three drone attacks on towns in southern Lebanon, resulting in a death and several...
MADRID, Spain: Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota and his younger brother, André Silva, have died in a car accident in Spain. Spanish...
LONDON, U.K.: An unrelenting heatwave sweeping across Europe has pushed early summer temperatures to historic highs, triggering deadly...
President Donald Trump's plans to build a space-based Golden Dome missile defense shield have drawn immediate criticism from China,...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Paramount has agreed to pay US$16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by U.S. President Donald Trump over...
LONDON, U.K.: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer won a vote in Parliament this week to move ahead with changes to the country's welfare...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday. President...