RUSSIA-UKRAINE Prigozhin’s friends from Minsk to Crimea

The governor of the peninsula annexed in 2014, Sergej Aksenov, a staunch Putin supporter, was so close to Prigozhin that he founded Konvoy, his own private Wagner-allied company. But now the recruitment billboards in the Crimea have been hastily replaced by a campaign against alcoholism.

Moscow () – Much has been said in recent days about the friendship between the head of the Wagner group, Prigozhin, and Belarusian President Lukashenko, who offered his “cook” friend a way out while paying his debts to the “elder brother” of both, Putin humiliated and now recycled as the only rock of salvation for the homeland in danger. The former group of mercenaries has freed itself from dependence on Russia and from the onerous commitment in Ukraine, having exhausted all reserves of state-supplied weapons and prison-supplied infantry.

Wagner’s stay in Belarus, without any kind of official control, allows Lukashenko to take advantage of his friend’s protection without always having to go to the Kremlin, and allows Prigozhin to visit all the territories where he can get involved in conflicts that help him to increase your turnover, from Africa to South America and beyond. But the Russian front in the Ukraine loses its main assault force at crucial points, one of which is undoubtedly the Crimea.

At the head of the sacred peninsula annexed in 2014 is another Putin loyalist, Governor Sergej Aksenov, who was also a great friend of Prigozhin and now is forced to make decisions to rethink his political-military position. In Crimea, the Wagner group was in charge of controlling the most sensitive areas and objectives, and the Ukrainian counter-offensive dreams precisely of recovering the territory of the ancient Tauride, the “navel of the Black Sea” between East and West.

Aksenov had repeatedly expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the “friendly cook” group, which later became “friendly fire” with the march on Moscow and retreat to Belarus. Naturally, as soon as Prigozhin launched into the conquest of Rostov and Voronezh, Aksenov put into circulation on VKontakte the post “Crimea is with the president!”, which was later joined by the group that the governor himself created in Crimea, the Konvoy. . This mercenary force is led by a former Wagner member, Konstantin Pikalov, better known as “Masai” for his ability to control power struggles in Africa by supporting the leaders of the conflicting forces in turn.

The Crimean president had publicly greeted Prigozhin on his birthday in early June, but on June 25 the message was conveniently removed from Aksenov’s Telegram channel. Actually, as an investigation by Krym.Realii notes, many other messages of support can still be found on the Internet, especially regarding the “hunger for bullets” that Prigozhin has been complaining about since February, at the beginning of his open polemic against the minister. Shojgu defense team that was sparing supplies to the Wagner. Aksenov joined in calling for “punishments at the highest level for the bureaucrats and generals responsible for supply interruptions.”

The failures of the Russian army at the front in recent months, beginning with the withdrawal from the left bank of the Dnieper at Kherson, had brought Prigozhin and Aksenov even closer together, and the latter had begun to spread propaganda for enlistment on the Wagner along with that of the Konvoj, even with messages broadcast by the official Crimean television channel. Generous salaries in Simferopol and Yalta, life and health insurance, provision of special equipment and state-of-the-art weapons were also promised, even putting up advertisements on buses and tram stops with the slogan “The W orchestra is waiting for you”.

Now, on the other hand, television on the peninsula talks about “turmoil, schism and betrayal” of former friend Evgenij Viktorovich Prigozhin, and the company that produced all the billboards – owned by Aksenov’s sister and his partner in business and political adventures, Sergej Lapenkos has removed all of them, replacing them with anti-alcoholism ads. The denazification of Crimea, the solemn beginning of all Putin’s special operations, has become a de-Wagnerization, coupled with the warning to refrain from excessive vodka, despite the fear of the possible return of Ukrainians and the abandonment of the strongest friends.