Yevgeny Prigozhin
© TASSYevgeny Prigozhin
"We interfered, we interfere and we will interfere," said Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is widely known as "Putin's Chef" for his company's catering contracts with the Kremlin. He's also on the FBI's most-wanted list.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin -- both of whom have been sanctioned by Washington and European countries -- has admitted Moscow interferes with U.S. elections and vowed to continue to do so.

In a post on his Telegram social media channel on November 7, Prigozhin, widely known as "Putin's Chef" for his company's catering contracts with the Kremlin, responded bluntly to a question from a follower asking about Russian efforts to influence elections in the United States by saying, "We interfered, we interfere and we will interfere."


Comment: A comment equally applicable to the U.S. It even brags about it:
yeltsin time cover wide
© content.time.com / Phillip Burke
time magazine fortified election 2020 Trump
© Time MagazineThe Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election

The follower's question was posed after RFE/RL cited a Bloomberg article highlighting new attempts by Russia to interfere with U.S. congressional and gubernatorial elections on November 8.

Prigozhin's statement is the first such admission from a figure who has been formally implicated by Washington in efforts to influence American politics. The Kremlin has vehemently denied accusations that it has tried to influence any U.S. elections.


Comment: True enough. Prigozhin is apparently acting as a private citizen. Mark Zuckerberg is also a private citizen.


"Carefully, precisely, surgically and in our own way, as we know how. During our pinpoint operations, we will remove both kidneys and the liver at once," Prigozhin added.


Comment: What was actually said:
A query from the editorial board of Russia News and an answer:
REQUEST:
Hello!
Question for Evgeny Viktorovich.
"Radio Liberty," citing a Bloomberg article, has alleged new interference by Russia in the US congressional elections to be held on November 8. The paper's journalists link the intervention attempts to your name. Can you comment on that?

ANSWER:
We publish Yevgeny Viktorovich's comment:

"I will respond to you very subtly, delicately, and I apologise for the ambiguity. Gentlemen, we have intervened, are intervening and will continue to do so. Gently, precisely, surgically and in our own way, as we know how. We will remove both kidneys and liver during our spot operations.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)



Prigozhin is a tycoon whose vast wealth comes from Kremlin catering contracts and whose notoriety comes from ownership of Russia's most-famous private mercenary company, Vagner -- also known as Wagner -- as well as its best-known "troll factory."

He is also one of the most strident critics of Russian commanders' approach to the invasion of Ukraine, which by many accounts is faltering eight months in.

Prigozhin gained notoriety in the United States over the St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency, a company he funded though its origins are shrouded in mystery.

Dubbed the "Russian troll factory," the company specialized in creating fake online accounts for Facebook and other social media and spreading disinformation and propaganda. It later was implicated in a conspiracy to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Two years later, a U.S. grand jury indicted Prigozhin, 12 other Russians, and the Internet Research Agency. The FBI put him on its most-wanted list last year.