Unverified images started circulating on social media Thursday suggesting that Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the Russian mercenary boss who led a short-lived mutiny in June, was assembly with African officers in St. Petersburg, the place a number of the continent’s high leaders have converged for a summit with President Vladimir V. Putin.
The whereabouts and standing of Mr. Prigozhin, a caterer turned warlord, have been the topic of constant questions since he tried to topple the Russian protection management final month, posing the largest safety risk to Mr. Putin’s authorities in a long time.
Questions even have endured about what’s going to develop into of Mr. Prigozhin’s operations in Africa, the place his Wagner forces are lively in quite a lot of nations, together with the Central African Republic and Mali.
The unverified pictures advised not solely that Mr. Prigozhin was shifting freely in Russia however that he additionally had entry to figures attending a significant diplomatic occasion, suggesting the Kremlin could also be endeavoring to harness his contacts and political good will in Africa regardless of the mutiny.
The primary {photograph} that appeared to attach Mr. Prigozhin to the summit surfaced on a Fb account registered within the title of Dmitri Sytyi, a Russian nationwide on whom the U.S. Treasury has imposed sanctions and described as an worker of Mr. Prigozhin within the Central African Republic. Neither the account nor the {photograph} might be independently verified.
The {photograph} reveals Mr. Prigozhin shaking palms with a person described in information media stories as a high official from the Central African Republic. They’re standing beside what gave the impression to be an elevator within the Trezzini Palace, a luxurious resort in St. Petersburg lengthy related to Mr. Prigozhin.
The resort is about 40 minutes by automobile from the convention venue for the Russia-Africa summit, suggesting that Mr. Prigozhin might have been assembly with attendees one-on-one exterior the confines of the occasion moderately than attending it. Within the {photograph}, the African official seems to be sporting the multicolored lanyard from the summit.
One other {photograph} appeared on a Telegram channel related to Wagner later within the day, displaying Mr. Prigozhin wearing the identical white button-down shirt and bluejeans, assembly with an govt from an African media conglomerate recognized for espousing pro-Kremlin views.
The placement of the assembly was unknown. Within the picture, Mr. Prigozhin is standing in entrance of a big map of Africa. A Telegram channel related to Wagner described the {photograph} as a gathering with the director of Afrique Média, a tv channel primarily based in Cameroon that has a partnership with the Russian state tv community RT.
Afrique Média didn’t reply to a request for remark.
A video appeared on Russian social media final week that apparently confirmed Mr. Prigozhin addressing his Wagner forces in Belarus, the place the Kremlin mentioned the mercenary boss can be shifting as a part of a deal he struck with Mr. Putin to cease the mutiny.
Within the days since then, nonetheless, Mr. Prigozhin has been noticed in Russia, elevating questions on whether or not he certainly will retreat into an agreed-upon exile in Belarus, the neighboring nation carefully allied with Moscow.
