(St-Petersburg) Russian paramilitary group Wagner opened its first headquarters in St-Petersburg, Russia on Friday, an AFP journalist said.
Posted at 2:01 pm
Yevgeny Prigozhin, who recently confirmed that he founded the top-secret group and deployed it to countries in Latin America, Africa and Ukraine, announced the opening of the office on National Unity Day in a press release published on his company Concorde’s website.
The multistory, glass-fronted building with a large white sign marked “Wagner” opened Friday.
Photo by Olga Maltseva, France-Presse Agency
Men in camouflage uniforms wander the building’s gray hallways, watching a display featuring drones.
“The mission of the PMC Wagner Center is to provide a comfortable environment for generating new ideas to improve Russia’s defense capability,” Prigozhin said in his statement.
Last month, Yevgeny Prigozhin ended years of rumors by admitting he founded the group. For years the Wagner Group has been suspected of playing a role in boosting Moscow’s ambitions abroad, a claim the Kremlin has denied any connection.
The group – and its leader – played a significant role in the offensive in Ukraine launched by Russia last February.
