'There's a photo of #Prigozhin serving wine to George w. #Bush in the #Kremlin when he visited decades ago. And there's a photo of him at a meeting between President #Putin and various members of the #Russian military elite with representatives of #Libya , a country where #Wagner#mercenaries were believed to be active'
'Convicted in his youth for theft and robbery #Prigozhin spent 9 years in jail. So he easily clicked with the #prison crowd and once they joined his #mercenary group he could count on their loyalty. #Wagner fighters first appeared in #Ukraine in 2014. Not long after that, they were spotted in several locations in the Middle East too, which explains those pictures of Prigozhin with #Libyan officials. 4 ys ago Wagner backed renegade general Khalifa #Haftar 's attempt to take the capital, #Tripoli.
In addition to the advertised aim of providing security - a big reason for #Wagner ’s presence on the continent is money-making. The #CAR for example is rich in natural resources like #copper, #gold, #uranium and #Russia ’s #mercenary arm has reportedly been involved in the #mining business too. 'In the CAR the economic interests of the #WagnerGroup continue to grow. They're now in the #vodka business. the dependency of the CAR on the Wagner group is concerning in light of the rebellion.'
Just a reminder while we’re all watching a private mercenary army revolt against its own country that everyone’s favorite twice impeached, twice indicted, insurrectionist former US president flirted with Erik Prince’s plan to privatize the US Military.