Russia's security services are engaged in an ongoing assassination plot against Wagner mercenary group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, Ukraine's head of defense intelligence said. Major general Kyrylo Budanov told The War Zone that Kyiv had been aware of Yevgeny Prigozhin's mutiny plans “for quite a while”. The mercenary group will no longer be a threat in Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he said.
Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin?
Last month, Yevgeny Prigozhin and his forces took control of military facilities in Russia's Rostov-on-Don but he later called off his troop's march to Moscow following a deal which would see him, and some of his troops, exiled to Belarus.
What did Ukraine spy boss say on Yevgeny Prigozhin?
When asked if he Yevgeny Prigozhin "will be assassinated by Putin," Kyrylo Budanov said, "We are aware that the FSB was charged with a task to assassinate him."
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"Will they be successful in doing that? We'll see with time," he said, adding, "Potential assassination attempts will not be fast. It will take them some time to have the proper approaches and to reach the stage when they're ready to add a huge operation. It's a big open question. Would they be successful in fulfilling that? Will they dare to execute that order?" he said.
However, Kyrylo Budanov said that Wagner group will not pose problems for Ukraine in Belarus, where camps for the mercenary group are reportedly being built. The hub there is “for logistic purposes which is being created for Wagner operations overseas, mostly in Africa”, he said. The agreement between Wagner and Vladimir Putin has "bought some time" for Russia's leadership but that their position of power "was greatly undermined" by the mutiny, the spy boss asserted.
What have other experts said?
{{/usCountry}}However, Kyrylo Budanov said that Wagner group will not pose problems for Ukraine in Belarus, where camps for the mercenary group are reportedly being built. The hub there is “for logistic purposes which is being created for Wagner operations overseas, mostly in Africa”, he said. The agreement between Wagner and Vladimir Putin has "bought some time" for Russia's leadership but that their position of power "was greatly undermined" by the mutiny, the spy boss asserted.
What have other experts said?
{{/usCountry}}Zev Faintuch, senior intelligence analyst at the security firm Global Guardian, told Newsweek that Prigozhin was still useful to Putin who is waiting “for the right moment to eliminate him at a time when he deems the likelihood of blowback from the ultranationalists to be lower. Prigozhin's mutiny expanded the sphere of acceptable government criticism and needs to be made an example of.”