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 among the continent’s prime 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 menace to Mr. Putin’s authorities in many years.
Questions even have persevered about what is going to develop into of Mr. Prigozhin’s operations in Africa, the place his Wagner forces are lively in a variety of international locations, together with the Central African Republic and Mali.
The unverified pictures steered not solely that Mr. Prigozhin was shifting freely in Russia however that he had entry to figures attending a serious 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 whom the U.S. Treasury has sanctioned and described as an worker of Mr. Prigozhin within the Central African Republic. Neither the account nor the {photograph} may very well be independently verified.
The {photograph} exhibits Mr. Prigozhin shaking arms with a person described in media experiences as a prime official from the Central African Republic. They’re standing beside what seemed 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 automotive from the convention venue for the Russia-Africa summit, suggesting that Mr. Prigozhin could have been assembly with attendees one-on-one outdoors 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 government from an African media conglomerate recognized for espousing pro-Kremlin views.
The situation 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 based mostly 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 stated 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, nevertheless, 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 intently allied with Moscow.
