Putin aide admits to ‘interfering’ in US elections

Russian businessman close to the Kremlin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, admitted Monday of “interfering” in the US elections, on the eve of the important midterm elections in the United States, which for years accused Moscow of meddling.

We intervened, we intervened, and we will continue to do so. Carefully, meticulously, surgically, in our own wayPrigojine, said in a post on the social networks of his company Concord.

The comments came in response to a question about accusations of Russian interference in the mid-term elections scheduled to be held in the United States on Tuesday, an election that Moscow is closely monitoring in the context of the crisis between it and Washington since the start of its offensive. in Ukraine.

Mr. Prigogine, who is under US and European sanctions, has been accused for several years of interfering in US elections, particularly during the 2016 presidential election.

He is specifically accused of creating a file trolley farmfalse profiles operating on social networks in an attempt to influence voters, for example by discrediting candidates or by transmitting false information.

The businessman, who was once conservative, is more and more asserting himself as a public figure in Russia, multiplying appearances in support of the Moscow offensive in Ukraine.

At the end of September, Mr. Prigozhin notably acknowledged the creation of the Wagner paramilitary group in 2014 to fight in Ukraine, recognizing its presence in particular in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

It is suspected that for years this paramilitary group has been carrying out low-key Kremlin actions in the shadows in various theaters of operations, which Moscow and Mr. Prigozhin have always denied.

Renowned for being close to Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin was for a time one of the suppliers of Kremlin kitchens, which earned him the nickname Putin cooking.