Ukraine demolished the headquarters of Russia’s covert Wagner mercenary outfit in Donbas after its location was revealed online by a propagandist.
Sergei Sreda, a self-proclaimed ‘war reporter,’ uploaded images online last week of himself visiting the Popasna facility and shaking hands with a guy who looked to be Yevgeny Prigozhin, the tycoon known as ‘Putin’s chef’ who owns Wagner.
Ukrainian media said that the military had pinpointed the site of the facility using Sreda’s Telegram photographs, which have now been removed.
Ukraine said that HIMARS launchers were then deployed to demolish the base.
Images from the event show extensive damage to the facility and the evacuation of multiple wounded from the demolished structures.
It is unclear whether Prigozhin was still on the base when the ball was struck. He has denied appearing in the photographs and claims to have never visited the facility.
Wager is a private army whose existence was denied by the Kremlin for years, but is believed to be at Putin’s beck and call.
The organization fights conflicts on behalf of the Kremlin in regions where direct Russian military action would attract unwelcome attention.
It is widely thought that Wager operates in Africa, the Middle East, and South America, where claims of war crimes, rape, and torture by its forces are prevalent.
Mercenaries are often recruited from the ranks of the regular Russian military, from which they have been dismissed for bad behavior.
In addition to recruiting from jails, Prigozhin is said to be on a hiring binge in the midst of high fatalities in Ukraine.
Murderers are reportedly being offered pardon from their jail terms in exchange for six months of frontline combat.
Prigozhin gained notoriety for organizing expensive Kremlin events for the Russian president, earning him the moniker “Putin’s chef.”
Then, he was connected to pro-Putin troll factories that spread misinformation in Russia and the West, as well as the Wagner private army, which is operating in Ukraine, Syria, and Africa.
Despite reports that he personally recruited inmates, including convicted killers, to join in the Ukraine conflict, he dismisses the Wagner connection.
He allegedly told prisoners, ‘I was incarcerated, too.’ Now I am a Russian Hero. We need your skills.’ Putin granted him Russia’s highest honor last month. During the Soviet era, he was imprisoned for robbery, fraud, and using minors in criminal activity.
A source from Popasna, unrelated to Wagner, informed the VCHK-OGPU Telegram group, “He is alive and swearing.”
It was confirmed that he was being transported to the Burdenko hospital in Moscow.
A close source to Wagner denied that he had been murdered.
“This is not the first time he has been buried,” the insider claimed, noting that prior Ukrainian media have incorrectly reported his death in previous occurrences.
Therefore, it is likely that there will be no public denials this time either. They are just unnecessary, the account said.
According to war journalist Yury Kotenok, Prigozhin was not injured.
In addition, there were claims of “moderate concern” that Prigozhin had not been seen since the strike.
Wagner sources seemed to confirm an attack on its Popasna facility.
The private army is seen as essential to Putin’s combat effort on the frontlines in light of allegations about the incompetence of his regular soldiers.