Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian private military contractor Wagner Group, has risen to prominence after taking an increasingly visible role in the war in Ukraine, where his mercenaries are fighting on behalf of Moscow after regular troops suffered heavy attrition and lost territory in humiliating setbacks.
Wagner troops raised a Russian flag in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut in April after a long and bloody battle, bagging a badly needed victory in the 15-month conflict.
