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Russian authorities have accused Yevgeniy Prigozhin — the head of the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group, a network of private security contractors key to Russia’s war in Ukraine — of “incitement to armed rebellion.” He claimed early Saturday to have taken control of a pivotal Russian military command center in Rostov-on-Don, in southern Russia.
The group’s seizure of Russian military sites sowed chaos, appearing to verge on open war with military authorities. The moves sparked heightened security in Moscow and drew condemnation from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The United States estimated earlier this year that about 50,000 of Prigozhin’s Wagner fighters had deployed to Ukraine, the majority of them recruited from inside Russian prisons. Long seen as a close ally of Putin, Prigozhin, joined his men on the front lines in Ukraine’s east.
During the course of the protracted, bloody battle over the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, he came into increasing conflict with Russia’s military leadership, railing against generals for failing to supply his forces. On Friday, he accused the Russian military of conducting a strike on a Wagner camp.
Here are some facts about the Wagner Group.
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