Kremlin commander who orchestrated poisoning in Salisbury ‘played role in murder of Yevgeny Prigozhin’, British spies believe
- Major General Andrej Averyanov is said to have harbored Wagner Chief’s long-standing grudge
The Kremlin commander who orchestrated the Salisbury poisoning played a role in the murder of Yevgeny Prigozhin, British intelligence agents believe.
Major General Andrey Averyanov is said to harbor a longstanding grudge against Wagner’s former mercenary chief.
Averyanov, who was in charge of the spies sent to Britain in 2018 to kill double agent Sergei Skripal, is being tipped to take over the North African arm of the force.
A British intelligence source told the newspaper i: ‘Many, including myself, thought his days (Prigozhin) were numbered. There is a lot of discussion about the name mentioned (Averyanov).’
Major General Andrej Averyanov is said to harbor a long-standing grudge against Wagner’s former mercenary chief
Averyanov leads a covert operations unit that carries out overseas missions such as the attempted assassination of Mr. Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
Last month he was seen introducing himself to African leaders at a summit in St Petersburg, prompting claims that Vladimir Putin would nominate him to lead Wagner’s activities in Africa.
Channels linked to Wagner on the Telegram social media site said the rallies were part of a Kremlin “relocation operation” to oust Prigozhin.