Wagner Group Attack on Russia: Not only the chief of Wagner Group, these 5 fighters also became a challenge for Putin

Speaking of Yevney Prigozhin, Prigozhin is the main financier of Wagner and has become the face of the organization since Putin's invasion of Ukraine. He is 61 years old and has been very special to Putin.

Russia's private army Wagner Group stabbed President Vladimir Putin in the back. But after a lot of ruckus, a settlement was reached. The southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don was reportedly captured by 25,000 fighters of Wagner Group chief Yevney Prigozhin. It seemed that these mercenaries were challenging Vladimir Putin's hold on power.

It is being said that not only Prigozhin but 5 more Wagner Group fighters had become a challenge for Vladimir. If we talk about Yevney Prigozhin first, then Prigozhin is the main financier of Wagner and since Putin's invasion of Ukraine he has become the face of the organization. He is 61 years old and has been very special to Putin. He has a catering business, which also used to arrange for Putin's food and drink. For this reason, he was also called Putin's chef.

Dmitry Utkin

Utkin is an operational commander and behind-the-scenes leader of the Wagner Group, believed by many to be a co-founder of the organization. He is a sinister former lieutenant colonel of Russia's 'Spetsnaz' special forces. Utkin has been awarded many orders for action on the battlefield and has served in the army till 2013. It was then deployed to Syria as part of the Russian intervention, which defeated rebel groups. Utkin is a staunch Russian nationalist who sports Nazi tattoos and is reportedly fascinated by Hitler's Third Reich.

Andrey Troshev

Andrey Troshev is said to have held the rank of colonel in the Russian army. He earned himself the title of 'Hero of the Russian Federation' for his military service, which is Russia's highest military honour. Troshev has been described by the European Union as the 'chief of staff' of the Wagner group and is Utkin's senior in Wagner's command structure, based on a series of intercepted communications analyzed by Bellingcat investigators. The two fighters were photographed standing with Putin at an official ceremony commemorating the recipients of state honors in 2016.

Konstantin Pikalov

Konstantin Pikalov is widely believed to be running the Wagner Group's operations in Africa. Pikalov is often known by his codename 'Maze'. This is also another veteran soldier of the Russian Armed Forces. He is believed to be in charge of the PMC's operations on the African continent. The former colonel heads the private security company Convoy, which is headquartered in St. Petersburg and has provided security services to several Russian consultants working with senior officials in several African countries, including the Central African Republic (CAR), Madagascar and Mozambique.

Igor Kostyukov

Igor Kostyukov, 62, is a naval admiral and has been the chief of Russia's GRU military intelligence unit since November 2018. He was not directly involved in the creation of the Wagner Group in the early years, but Kostyukov became involved in the operation of the PMC after the organization's good relations with the GRU.

Alexey Dyumin

Alexey Dyumin was the former personal security guard and confidant of the President. He reportedly gained the love and trust of his boss when he confronted a bear at the presidential residence. Dyumin is also the deputy defense minister and deputy chief of the GRU. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general because of his direct involvement in the occupation of Crimea. He has since enjoyed considerable political success as the governor of Russia's Tula region.