Meet The Man Leading The Wagner Mercenary Force's Rebellion Against The Russian Military

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian Wagner mercenary group has started a rebellion against the current Russian military leadership, and has entered the town of Rostov with his fighters.

Prigozhin has vowed "to go to the end" to topple the military leadership accusing the Russian military leadership of launching strikes on Wagner mercenaries.

He has also claimed responsibility for shooting down a Russian military helicopter.

Prigozhin's forces have been at the forefront of Russia's offensive in Ukraine, most notably at the battle for Bakhmut.

The battle for the control of Bakhmut, dubbed as the 'meat grinder' by various western analysts due to the enormous human casualties suffered by both sides, was primarily won by Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) with the help of Russian paratroopers — the VDV.

According to a report, the Russian Prosecutor General has confirmed that they have started an investigation against Prigozhin for 'armed rebellion'. This challenge by Prigozhin to the Russian military leadership highlights the growing discord within the country.

Here is all you need to know about Yevgeny Progozhin, the founder of Wagner PMC.

Yevgeny Prigozhin is a powerful and controversial figure with close ties to Putin. He controls a vast network of businesses and represents the dark side of Russian power.

Progozhin was born in Leningrad (now St Petersburg) in 1961. He has a troubled childhood, where he has to spend time in a children's home and later in a juvenile detention center.

He worked as a cook and eventually opened a restaurant in St Petersburg. During the early 2000s, he secured Russian government contracts to provide meals for school children and government workers.

This is where he became a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was then the mayor of St Petersburg.

He is also sometimes known by the name 'Putin's chef', as his company Concord Catering owns the catering contracts for the Kremlin.

He also served nine years after he was convicted by Soviet Union for robbery and fraud.

Prigozhin according to a report, is believed to have founded the Wagner Mercenary Group, a Private Military Company (PMC), in 2014 at the same time when Russian based separatist captured various government headquarters in Donbass and Luhansk region of Ukraine.

The PMC also took part in conflicts in Syria and Libya, where it is accused of war crimes and human rights violations like torture and summary executions.

Prigozhin is also believed to run the Internet Research Agency (IRA), a troll farm accused of meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. The IRA utilised social media to spread pro-Trump propaganda and change results of the American elections.

The United States and the European Union have sanctioned Prigozhin for his activities, and the US Department of Justice is currently investigating him for potential criminal charges.