Smiling alongside mercenaries in full combat gear, this is how Russian war propagandist Sergei Sreda marked a visit to Wagner’s Ukraine headquarters last week – saying they welcomed him ‘like family’ and told ‘funny stories’.
But Sreda actually condemned the men to death – giving away the base’s location in the occupied city of Popasna after inadvertently photographing a street sign that contained the address of a nearby bomb shelter.
That was all experts needed to locate the base, which Ukraine then used to launch a HIMARS strike. Confirmation that it had been struck came on Sunday, when Telegram channels with links to Wagner began posting photos of the aftermath – including soldiers being carried away on stretchers.
It is just the latest embarrassing blunder for Vladimir Putin’s forces almost six months into what was supposed to be a days-long war in Ukraine – having been forced to retreat from Kyiv, seen the Black Sea flagship Moskva sunk, withdrawn from Snake Island, and last week seen an airbase in Crimea all-but wiped off the map.
Sergei Sreda, a Russian war propagandist, visited Wagner’s HQ in Ukraine last week to pose with soldiers – but inadvertently revealed its location with this photo, which included a street sign with the address of a nearby bomb shelter (top left)
Ukraine said it used the information in that photo to launch a HIMARS attack on the base, with confirmation coming from Wagner-linked Telegram channels on Sunday that it had been hit (pictured, the aftermath of the strike)
It is not clear how many mercenaries were killed or wounded in the strike, but images uploaded to Telegram accounts linked to the group show men being carried out on stretchers
Sreda’s visit also seems to have coincided with a visit to the frontline by Yevgeny Prigozhin, an oligarch who owns Wagner and has been dubbed ‘Putin’s chef’ because he rose to prominence throwing lavish banquets for the Russian leader.
Another photo uploaded to his Telegram channel on August 8 – and since deleted – shows him shaking hands with a man who looks very like Prigozhin, as a rifle-carrying thug stands nearby.
Unconfirmed reports that have emerged on Telegram since the strike claim that Prigozhin has not been seen since – though nobody has yet confirmed he was at the base at the time it was hit.
Wager is an army-for-hire whose existence was denied by the Kremlin for years, but is thought to be at the beck-and-call of Putin himself.
The group is used to fight wars on behalf of the Kremlin in areas of the world where direct Russian military involvement would draw unwanted attention.
Wager is believed to operate in Africa, the Middle East and South America, where allegations of war crimes, rape and torture by its troops are common.
Mercenaries are often recruited from the ranks of Russia’s regular military, often having been discharged for poor conduct.
Prigozhin is also thought to recruit from prisons, and is said to be in the middle of a hiring spree amid heavy casualties in Ukraine.
Murderers are allegedly being offered clemency from prison sentences provided they are willing to fight for six months on the frontlines.
Prigozhin came to prominence arranging lavish Kremlin functions for the Russian president – earning himself the nickname ‘Putin’s chef’.
Next, he was linked to pro-Putin troll factories pumping out supportive propaganda in Russia and the West, and to the Wagner private army which is active in Ukraine, Syria and Africa.
He disputes the link to Wagner, despite claims he has been seen personally recruiting prisoners – including convicted murderers – to fight in the war in Ukraine.
He reportedly told inmates: ‘I was jailed, too. Now I am a Hero of Russia. We need your skills.’
Putin last month awarded him Russia’s top honour. In Soviet times, he was jailed for robbery, fraud, and involving teenagers in crime.
‘He is alive, even swearing,’ a source from Popasna, not related to Wagner, told VCHK-OGPU Telegram channel.
Video shows what appear to be Wagner troops combing through the ruins of their destroyed headquarters in Popasna after it was struck by Ukraine
Video shows soldiers believed to be Wagner troops loading their dead and wounded comrades into the back of an ambulance in Popasna
Sreda (right) also posted an image of himself shaking hands with a man who appears to be Yevgeny Prigozhin (left), a Russian oligarch who owns Wagner, at the base. It is not clear whether Prigozhin was still there when the rocket attack happened
It reported with verification that he was being evacuated to Burdenko hospital in Moscow.
A source close to Wagner denied he had been killed.
‘This is not the first time they have buried him,’ said the source, saying that earlier Ukrainian reports had wrongly reported his death in previous incidents.
‘So there will probably be no official denials this time either. They are simply not needed,’ said the account.
War correspondent Yury Kotenok said Prigozhin was not wounded.
But there was also a claim of ‘mild panic’ that Prigozhin had not been seen in the wake of the strike.
Wagner sources appeared to confirm the fact of a strike on its base in Popasna.
The private army is seen as crucial to Putin’s war effort on the frontlines amid claims over the failings of his regular forces.
Prigozhin (left) is an oligarch who rose to prominence organising lavish functions for Vladimir Putin (centre), earning him the nickname ‘Putin’s chef’