The Wagner group has put out a 15
million dollar bounty out on Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, Il
Foglio newspaper reported Wednesday.
The bounty by the Russian mercenary group was flagged to the
minister by Italian intelligence services about 10 days ago, it
said.
It said Crosetto has not upped his security detail.
Earlier this week Crosetto accused Wagner of driving migrants
from Africa, especially Libya, in retaliation for Rome's support
for Ukraine.
Wagner, which is best known at present for its role in Russia's
invasion of Ukraine, is also active in Mali, Central African
Republic, Sudan, Syria and Libya, where it backs Cyrenaica
strongman General Khalifa Haftar.
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin responded to Crosetto's claim
that the Russian mercenary group was driving migration from
several African countries to Italy by saying that the group did
not deal with migrants.
Prigozhin called Crosetto a 'mudak', a very insulting Russian
term literally meaning testicle but used to mean dickhead or
asshole.
Crosetto had accused the pro-Kremlin private Russian company and
mercenary corps of waging a "hybrid war" and boosting emigration
from the African countries where it is present.
photo: Prigozhin (L) and Crosetto
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