Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner Group, is seen in a photo taken during the Africa-Russia summit in St. Petersburg. BBC news
A photo posted on Facebook shows Prigogine shaking hands with Central African Republic (CAR) Ambassador Freddy Mapuka.
The photo was posted on Facebook by Dimitri Sitti – who is reportedly Wagner’s operations manager at CAR.
Prigogine was definitely seen inside Russia for the first time since Wagner’s failed uprising in June.
Using identification technology, and combining other evidence, BBC Verify confirmed that the meeting between Mapuka and Prigogine took place at the Trezny Palace Hotel in St Petersburg.
Earlier last week, Prigozhin was seen in Belarus. In a video on a Telegram channel, Prigozhin can be seen welcoming the fighters and criticizing what is happening recently on the battlefield in Ukraine.