The head of Wagner’s mercenaries, Yevgeny Prigozhin, confirmed the information that his paramilitary group recruited a former Zambian student named Lemehani Nyirenda, who later died in the war in Ukraine, in a Russian colony, Meduza reports.
“I remember this guy well. I spoke with him in the Tver region and asked him: “Why do you want this war? In a few years, you will be able to leave earlier, soon you will be home and see your relatives. what are you going to do [la război]?'”, says the press release of the Concordia company, which provides catering for the Kremlin, Prigozhyn.
Mercenary boss Wagner claims he warned the young man that “the probability of death is quite high.”
“And he answered what I expected. He said: “You Russians have helped us Africans gain independence for many years. When it was difficult for us, you turned to us and you continue to do so now,” Yevgeny Prigozhin claims.
He also notes that the student expressed a “great honor” to be able to fight alongside Wagner’s mercenaries.
Zambia demanded an explanation from Russia regarding the death of the young man
Prigozhin’s comments came after Zambia’s foreign ministry asked Moscow for information on what happened to Nyirenda after it emerged he had died fighting in Ukraine after being recruited by Wagner’s mercenaries.
It will be recalled that Russian investigative journalists wrote from the beginning of July that Wagner’s group began to recruit in Russian prisons.
While Prigozhin’s “story” of what a former student allegedly told him is clearly part of Moscow’s propaganda line on Africa, several videos have emerged over the months showing that “Putin’s cook” was personally present at the recruitment.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Lusaka last week said it had information that Nyirenda had died on the battlefield on September 22. His remains were taken by plane to the border city of Rostov with Russia for repatriation to Zambia.
In Russia, Nyirenda studied at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and worked as a courier. In April 2020, he was sentenced to 9.5 years in prison after the police who arrested him found drugs in his bag.
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Source: Hot News
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