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(Reuters) – A senior Russian politician on Friday revealed an image of himself clutching a sledgehammer given to him by the Wagner mercenary group, a software it has adopted as a logo of vengeance since one was used to homicide a Wagner defector final yr.
The macabre reward gave the impression to be a thanks to Sergei Mironov, chief in parliament of the Kremlin-loyal A Simply Russia celebration, for his assist for Wagner and its exploits on the battlefields of jap Ukraine.
Mironov, a former paratrooper, has hailed Wagner, which calls itself a non-public navy firm, as “a heroic navy formation” after it spearheaded an operation that noticed Russian forces this month seize the Ukrainian city of Soledar.
The politician revealed an image of himself posing with the sledgehammer on his social media accounts, thanking Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner’s founder, for the weird reward.
The sledgehammer’s steel head bore the Wagner brand and was emblazoned with a pile of skulls.
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“…This can be a useful gizmo. With its assist, we’ll put a dent within the Nazi ideology that goals to destroy our nation,” stated Mironov, who like many different Russian politicians portrays the warfare in Ukraine as an existential wrestle for Russia’s survival towards a malevolent West.
Ukraine and the West reject that characterisation, saying their sole goal is to push Russian forces out of Ukraine after they invaded it in February final yr.
Whereas the Kremlin says teams like Wagner are free to work overseas, the actions of personal navy firms inside Russia are technically banned.
Mironov on Tuesday stated Wagner’s actions needs to be legalised inside Russia and stated his celebration had drawn up the required laws.
Having beforehand shunned the highlight, Wagner founder Prigozhin has assumed a better profile in latest months, criticising the nation’s navy commanders for what he stated have been their battlefield failures and expressing views on numerous political points.
Prigozhin has spoken of the sledgehammer as a logo of vengeance for use towards individuals he regards as traitors.
In November, an unverified video appeared on a social media channel related to Wagner which confirmed somebody utilizing a sledgehammer to homicide a Wagner fighter who had surrendered to Ukrainian forces and stated he needed to battle for them.
Prigozhin initially stated the person had died “a canine’s demise for a canine” however didn’t declare direct accountability for the killing on Wagner’s behalf and later prompt, with out proof, that international forces have been behind the homicide.
(Reporting by Reuters; Modifying by Andrew Osborn)
Copyright 2023 Thomson Reuters.
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