Ukrainian authorities on Friday accused the owner of the Wagner Group, Russian oligarch Yevgeni Prigozhin, of being “directly responsible for thousands of war crimes”, underlining that they are investigating his role in the conflict in Ukraine.
In a message published on the social network Facebook, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin defended that “it is time to put an end to the bloody deeds of the Russians, who act in the service of a group with the name of a famous composer [o alemão Richard Wagner]noting that Prigozhin “recruited and trained subordinates to deploy in the conflict in Ukraine”.
“All this happened with the full support of the current Russian regime,” he said, recalling that the head of the Wagner Group “openly admits his role in the war in Ukraine and, with the Kremlin’s permission, [presidência russa]solving problems of [falta de] personnel through the recruitment of tens of thousands of prisoners”.
Kostin complained that Prighozin “has been convicted of theft in Russia and is now a hero” and part of “the criminal elite of a terrorist regime”.
“The other ‘Wagnerians’ will also not shirk their responsibilities, including those who have fled the country,” the prosecutor assured, adding that two of these fighters who are in European Union countries are being interrogated.
“I am convinced that together with international partners we will guarantee the full accountability of all criminals who came to our country with weapons in their hands, as well as their bosses, who do business with blood. Stronger than the hammer of anarchy “, concluded he.
The Wagner mercenary group, affiliated with the Russian presidency, is accused of recruiting Russian and Ukrainian prisoners transferred to Russian prisons to go to the front.
Many of these ex-prisoners — who agreed to fight in the war in exchange for their release from prison — are the first line of attack, according to Ukraine’s secret services, and make up 80 percent of the victims recorded by Russia.
Russia’s Prisoners’ Rights Organization, Rus Sidiaschaya (RS), reports that about 40,000 prisoners recruited by the Wagner mercenary group have been killed, abandoned, wounded or captured as prisoners in Ukraine.
The Wagner Group is a private group, founded by a confidant of President Vladimir Putin, dedicated to combating conflicts in which Russia is an interested party.
It has become influential in Africa, where it has promoted Russian disinformation, forged alliances with governments and gained access to oil, gas, gold, diamonds and valuable minerals.
The mercenary group has in recent weeks settled in the eastern part of Ukraine, in the Dombass region, where it is making strong progress for the Russian army, according to Moscow.
Source: DN
