American “former general” is a member of Wagner, according to the founder of the mercenary organization

The head of the Russian mercenary organization Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said on Friday that a “former general” of the US Marine Corps is a member of the paramilitary group, which is active in – among other places – Ukraine.

Asked by the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, Prigozhin replied: “There are not many Finns in Wagner, there are about 20. For obvious reasons, I cannot reveal information about them.”

“I have a very good opinion of the Finns on the battlefield. They are fighting in a British battalion (part of Wagner) commanded by an American, a former general in the US Marine Corps,” added Prigozhin in his reply to the Finnish newspaper.

Yevgeny Prigozhin — who earned the nickname “Putin’s Chef” as his catering company works with the Kremlin — has reportedly become a billionaire thanks to government contracts he secured. Sanctions have been imposed on him by both the European Union and the United States.

Last September he revealed for the first time that he founded Wagner in 2014 to fight in Ukraine and admitted the presence of the Russian mercenary group in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

For years there have been suspicions that Wagner played a role in furthering the Kremlin’s ambitions, including in Ukraine, where fighters from the paramilitary group found themselves on the front lines during the Russian invasion that began in February.

In early November, Wagner opened its first official headquarters in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city.

RES-EMP

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