If one story dominated the headlines from Russia in 2023, it was the rise and the fall of the murky and brutal Wagner mercenary group — and of its leader, the late Kremlin-linked catering magnate Yevgeny Prigozhin. Wagner rose to prominence as one of the driving forces of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine starting in mid-2022. On the frontlines in Ukraine, Prigozhin says that his troops singlehandedly captured the eastern Ukrainian salt-mining town of Soledar. The announcement of the largely symbolic victory is the latest episode in the emerging rift between the mercenary group and the Defense Ministry, which credits its forces for the capture of Soledar. Wagner fighters in Ukraine.

Source: The Nation December 25, 2023 21:00 UTC