Who Is Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner Group Leader Challenging Putin

The head of Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin on Saturday vowed to bring down Russia's military leadership.

Prigozhin accused Moscow of ordering a rocket strike against Wagner's war camp in Ukraine, killing 2,000 of his soldiers in a number of video and audio recordings posted online Friday.

In response, Prigozhin said that his troops would now move to punish Shoigu and urged the army not to offer resistance.

Prigozhin declared that "this is not an armed rebellion, but a march of justice."

The Russian Defense Ministry rejected Prigozhin's claim and the National Anti-Terrorism Committee, the country's top counter-terrorism structure, said it opened a criminal inquiry on charges of making calls for a military coup.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been informed about the situation, adding that "all the necessary measures were being taken."

Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin?

Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin is a Russian oligarch, mercenary chief, and a close confidant of Russian president Vladimir Putin until launching an alleged coup.

In 1981, he was convicted of robbery and assault and sentenced to 12 years in prison. After his release, he opened a restaurant business in St. Petersburg in the 1990s and during this period he got to know Vladimir Putin, then the city's deputy mayor.

With Putins contact, Prigozhin developed a catering business and won lucrative Russian government contracts.

Prigozhin is nicknamed Putin's chef, as he owns restaurants and catering companies that provide services for the Kremlin.

Prigozhin now controls a network of influential companies, including the Russian state-backed mercenary company Wagner Group and three companies accused of interference in the 2016 and 2018 US elections.

According to theThe Insider, and Der Spiegel, Prigozhin's activities are tightly integrated with Russia's Defence Ministry and its intelligence arm, the GRU.

Prigozhin is the founder of the Wagner Group, a Kremlin-allied mercenary force that has come to play a significant role in Putin's projection of Russian influence in trouble spots around the world.

Prigozhin's Wagner group was a major force in the Ukraine war, fighting as counterparts to the Russian army in battles with Ukrainian forces.