A recording was published on social networks showing a visit made by the leader of the Wagner mercenaries, Evgheni Prigojin, to the “command” of this paramilitary organization. The recording is filmed and edited in a manner similar to the video reports that present visits to the front by the Russian Minister of Defense, Sergei Șoigu. The “style” of Prigojin’s reporting thus creates the impression that Chief Wagner intentionally allowed himself to be filmed and presented in this way, in order to “troll” or parody Shoigu.
The video clip begins with a sequence of short, fast-cut shots of Prigozhin boarding a helicopter, footage from the helicopter, footage of Prigozhin in the helicopter, and then Prigozhin shaking hands with a group of Wagner mercenaries who greet him upon arrival.
At one point, Prigozhin takes out some cigarettes from a box on a table and points them to the camera: “Free cigarettes! Take and smoke as much as you want.”
Boss Wagner then goes into an underground shelter where he talks to some fighters.
“Everything is quiet and safe here,” says Prigojin. “When the drones start flying over Belgorod and Moscow, this will be the best place to rest.”
Evgheni Prigojin then visits the sleeping area of the “commander” of the Wagner mercenaries in the area and declares himself pleasantly impressed by the simplicity of the shelter. “It’s a sign that no money was stolen. Everything is modest, only the strictly necessary”, says the one who is also known as “Putin’s chef”.
For comparison, here is how the video reports of Serghei Șoigu’s visits to the front look like.
The bad relations between Prigojin and Shoigu are already well-known, and the rift between the two has become bigger in recent months, amid the fighting in Bahmut.
On May 25, when he announced the withdrawal of Wagner’s troops from Bahmut, Prigozhin did not miss the opportunity to mock the Russian army. He presented two mercenaries Wagner “that he left behind” to take care of the soldiers subordinated to Shoigu.
“They are two people we leave to the army (regular forces),” Prigojin said. “Biber and Dolic. That’s why when the soldiers in the army have a hard time, the two of them will stand up and block the path of the Ukrainian army. Boys, don’t upset the soldiers.”
Also earlier this week, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, sent a congratulatory letter to Sergei Shoigu on his birthday, in which he harshly mocks the Russian defense minister, whom he says has become the boss of the military from a former electrician and construction worker.
Editor: Mihnea Lazar
