‘Putin’s chef’ Yevgeny Prigozhin admits to interfering in US elections
- The Kremlin-connected Russian businessman said he would continue meddling in US politics, ‘carefully, surgically and in our own way’
- The admission comes on the eve of the US 2022 midterms; Prigozhin was among those indicted in Robert Mueller’s Trump-Russia investigation
Kremlin-connected entrepreneur Yevgeny Prigozhin admitted that he had interfered in US elections and would continue to do so – confirming for the first time the accusations that he has rejected for years.
“We have interfered, are interfering and will continue to interfere. Carefully, precisely, surgically and in our own way,” Prigozhin said in remarks posted on social media on Monday.
The statement, from the press service of his catering company that earned him the nickname “Putin’s chef”, came on the eve of US midterm elections in response to a request for comment.
It was the second major admission in recent months by the 61-year-old businessman who has ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Prigozhin has previously sought to keep his activities under the radar and now appears increasingly interested in gaining political clout.
In September, he also publicly stated that he was behind the Wagner Group mercenary force – something he also had previously denied – and talked openly about its involvement in Russia’s eight-month-old war in Ukraine. The military contractor has also sent its forces to places like Syria and sub-Saharan Africa.
02:06
Putin’s effigies appear in Kyiv Halloween festivities as fresh missile strikes leave city parched
Video also has emerged recently of a man resembling Prigozhin visiting Russian penal colonies to recruit prisoners to fight in Ukraine.
