Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin claims that he intends to run for Ukraine presidency in 2024

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the financier and the head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, announced on Saturday that he intends to run for the office of the President of Ukraine. The mercenary group has been active in the raging Russia-Ukraine war. In a recent video which is being circulated online, the Wagner chief laid out his “political ambitions” for the next year. 

"I'm making a political coming out. Looking at everything around me, I've got political ambitions. I decided to run for president in 2024. President of Ukraine," the Wagner chief announced on Saturday. The video by Prigozhin was later shared by the Ukrainian Advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs, Anton Gerashchenko. The Ukrainian diplomat asserted that the announcement made by Prgozhin is intended to “divert attention”, from his political ambitions back in Moscow. “Prigozhin said he wants to run for president of Ukraine in 2024. This statement is intended to divert attention from his political ambitions in Russia, where he dreams of coming to power and possibly being Putin's successor,” Garashchenko tweeted on Saturday.

The Wagner chief announced that he will be running against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In his proclamation, Prigozhin asserted that things will be better if he gets elected. "If I win the presidential elections of Ukraine, then everything will be fine, guys, the shells will not be needed," he said. In the past, the Wagner chief has expressed his discontent over the lack of support he and his group is receiving from Russia. 

Prighozin’s push for gaining influence

The Wagner group has been present in Ukraine since 2014, however, the group has maintained a low profile for a very long time. It was in the current Russia-Ukraine war that the group garnered the attention of the mainstream media and so did the group’s head. As Prigozhin embraces his public profile, many speculate that he wants to emerge as a political opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, the two have shared a close relationship so much so that Prigozhin was better known as “Putin’s chef”, as per the report by NPR. 

Over the course of the Russia-Ukraine war, the dynamics between the Wagner group and the Russian administration changed drastically. While the Kremlin is distancing itself from the group, the Wagner chief is complaining about the lack of support from the Russian bloc. According to Newsweek, the group has gained control over most of the Western part of Bakhmut,enabling Russian forces to encircle the Ukrainian city.