Putin: Russia Spent One Billion Dollars to Fund the Wagner Group

Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed today, Tuesday, that "the Russian state fully financed the Wagner private military group, spending 86 billion rubles, or one billion dollars, on it between May 2022 and the same month this year." During a meeting with security forces, Putin stated: "Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led the short-lived rebellion last Saturday, earned nearly the same amount during the same period from his food and catering business."