Law, Power, and Justice

Saturday 8 July 2023

4:45 PM

News Notes

Prigozhin

Yahoo News: Ridiculing Prigozhin

https://news.yahoo.com/series-leaked-photos-appearing-show-154138909.html

• Leaked images appear to show Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in bizarre disguises.
• The photos, shared by pro-Kremlin Telegram channels, could be an attempt to humiliate the Wagner chief.

https://www.businessinsider.com/kremlin-photos-appear-to-show-wagners-prigozhin-in-bizarre-disguises-2023-7

• Business Insider refers to the disguises as “comical.”
• Russian news site URA said that the disguises show Prigozhin as: “a Ministry of Defense officer in Sudan, a diplomatic aide from Abu Dhabi, a senior lieutenant from Benghazi, a colonel from Tripoli, a merchant from Syria, and a field commander named Muhammad.”
• “Reuters reported that Russian state television first shared the images of the raid (on Prigozhin’s house) on Wednesday in an attempt to discredit Prigozhin and accuse him of hypocrisy for saying Russia’s military is corrupt.”

Wall Street Journal: Prigozhin’s movements

https://www.wsj.com/articles/prigozhins-movements-a-mystery-as-wagner-fans-gather-in-st-petersburg-f17302ad

• Prigozhin appears to be back in Russia.
• Supporters of Wagner gathered in St. Petersburgh Saturday.

CNN

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/prigozhin-s-fate-remains-unclear-and-it-signals-more-trouble-in-russia/ar-AA1dxEl4

• Prigozhin ran a business empire including a private military company, a troll farm, a multi-million dollar catering company and a media group.
• CNN describes the “deal” brokered by Lukashenko as requiring that Prigozhin leave Russia and move to Belarus.  His men were given three choices: follow Prigozhin to Belarus, join the regular Russian military, or stop fighting and go home.
• Lukashenko at first claimed that Prigozhin had arrived in Belarus, but that fact could not be confirmed.  Then, Thursday (6/6/23) Lukashenko announced that Prigozhin was in St. Petersburg and might be traveling to Moscow or “elsewhere.”
• Lukashenko also said that the Wagner fighters were not at the camps Belarus had apparently set aside for them.
• It is a mystery why Putin has allowed him to remain free even as he fails to abide by the “deal.”
• Prigozhin has always claimed that Putin was led into the invasion of Ukraine by an incompetent and corrupt military leadership.
• The Kremlin appears to be dismantling Prigozhin’s valuable companies and putting them in more “reliable” hands.
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