Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group, has reappeared in a photograph that has been published by the mercenary group itself on Facebook in which he can be seen together with a senior official from the Central African Republic (RCA).. The image, which was taken at the Russian-African summit that is taking place these days in St. Petersburg, Russia, and to which Vladimir Putin has also attended, takes on special importance since little was known about him after the attack carried out against the Russian Government.

Prigozhin, who led the revolt, had been missing ever since, although the Kremlin said he met Putin after the revolt. Once the mutiny was stopped after the mediation of the Belarusian president, Alexandr Lukashenko, the Russian president gave three options to the fighters of this group of mercenaries.. The first was to return to their homes, the second to go to Belarus and the third to sign an agreement with the Russian Ministry of Defense to submit to them.

From that moment, almost nothing was known about Prigozhin.. After the revolt, the leader himself released some audios in which he clarified that at no time did he want to end Russian power, but only wanted to prevent the disappearance of his group. But physically he had only been seen in a video published on July 19 where the leader appeared greeting the fighters of his group in Belarus.. However, the video was recorded in low light and appeared grainy, so it could not be confirmed that it was him either.

Now, it has been the group of mercenaries themselves who have published this snapshot shared through Facebook by a senior member of the Wagner Group. According to CNN, it is taken at the Trezzini Palace hotel in St. Petersburg, which is owned precisely by Prigozhin. Another newspaper, the Fotanka newspaper, assures that the leader of the Wagners has met there with representatives of the Nigerian delegation at this summit, although the details of these meetings are unknown at the moment.

Putin promises free cereals to several countries

At this same Russian-African summit, in the midst of the crisis with Ukraine over the cereal agreement, Vladimir Putin has promised the arrival of free cereals to several African countries. “In the next 3-4 months we will be ready to supply Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic (CAR) and Eritrea with between 25,000 and 50,000 tons of cereals free of charge,” said the Russian president.

In this way, despite having abandoned the grain agreement, Putin has presented himself as “guarantor of global food security” and has stated that he will also bear the costs of transporting this cereal. “We understand the importance of uninterrupted food supply for African countries. It is important for socio-economic development and for maintaining political stability.”. has asserted.

Thus, he has assured that Russia will continue to “pay special attention” to the supply of wheat, barley, corn and other cereal crops “to African friends”. “And this despite the illegal sanctions that greatly hinder Russian food supplies and complicate transportation, logistics, insurance and bank payments,” he said.

Ukrainian counteroffensive

In the midst of the celebration of this summit, this Thursday the Ukrainian army has launched a more intense attack in the province of Zaporizhia, in southern Ukraine.. It is a mechanized offensive that has been confirmed by the Russian army, who claim to have stopped the attack.

Although for the moment the counteroffensive has not been confirmed or denied by Ukraine, the Russian president has reported that “his enemy” has used more than 50 armored cars, of which Russian forces have destroyed a total of 39, including 26 tanks.

In statements to Russian public television, Putin also assured that kyiv had lost more than 200 soldiers in this attack, while Russian troops had only lost “ten times fewer casualties.”

Poland warns of an attack by the Wagner Group

The Wagner Group, who are located in Belarus, pose a threat to Poland. This was considered this Thursday by the Polish Minister for Special Affairs, Stanislaw Zaryn, who warned that “we must be prepared in case these mercenaries are used against Poland.”

“At the moment there are around a thousand Wagner members in Belarus,” he explained, adding that some estimates say that there may be up to three thousand.. In addition, Zaryn has assured that the arrival of these mercenaries in Belarus “was like a gift for the Belarusian president, Aleksandr Lukashenko, who perhaps thought that with them he could ensure his power.”

However, he has warned that this group can quickly get out of his control and become a problem for Belarus itself.. “They are convicts and war criminals who will always be causing problems wherever they are,” he asserted.