In the twilight of the Soviet Union, Yevgeny Prigozhin was languishing in prison for theft. Now as the founder of the Wagner Group, Russia's most powerful mercenary group, he is vying for Vladimir Putin's favor by claiming a rare battlefield win in Ukraine
His aim is to leverage the success that Wagner Group, his mercenary outfit, had this week in pushing Ukrainian forces out of the salt mining town of Soledar, a move that revives Russian plans to seize more of eastern Ukraine after multiple defeats.on Friday after Ukraine said its forces were holding on after a 'hot' night of fighting. Reuters could not immediately verify the situation in the town.
Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser, has hailed the shaven-headed mercenary chief as "a new hero." Prigozhin has played down the idea he is seeking official elevation in the past, while not emphatically ruling it out. His press service, and the Kremlin, did not immediately reply to requests for fresh comment.
Yet Igor Girkin, a Russian nationalist and former Federal Security Service officer who helped launch the original Donbas war in 2014 and is under U.S. sanctions, has said Prigozhin is careless with the lives of his men. He has also said capturing Soledar and nearby Bakhmut would not be militarily significant.
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