Putin ally admits Russia interfered in US elections, says it's working 'surgically' to disrupt the midterms

Russian billionaire and businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

• Yevgeny Prigozhin, an ally of Russia's Vladimir Putin, admitted to interfering in past US elections.
• "We have interfered, we are interfering and we will continue to interfere," he said on social media.
• Russia has long denied US accusations that it meddles in its elections. 

Yevgeny Prigozhin, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that Russia has interfered in US elections in the past and would continue to do so. 

In a post on the Russian social-media site VKontakte, via his catering firm, Prigozhin said: "We have interfered, we are interfering and we will continue to interfere. Carefully, accurately, surgically and in our own way, as we know how to do."

—AFP News Agency (@AFP) November 7, 2022

"During our pinpoint operations, we will remove both kidneys and the liver at once," Prigozhin added, in an apparent reference to the surgical nature of the operations.

Prigozhin, who has been dubbed "Putin's chef" for securing valuable Kremlin catering contracts, has been accused of attempts to subvert past US elections through his control of so-called "troll farms," which flooded social media platforms with disinformation and conspiracy theories. 

He also controls the Wagner Group, a mercenary organisation whose fighters have played a key role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and in furthering Russian objectives in conflicts in Africa and the Middle East. 

In recent weeks, analysts say Prigozhin has been seeking to enhance his reputation as hardliner, criticising the generals responsible for the faltering Russian military invasion of Ukraine. 

Prigozhin has previously been targeted for sanctions by the US and EU over his alleged involvement in attempts to subvert US elections, with the State Department in July offering a $10 million reward for information about him. 

Multiple US Congressional and intelligence reports have concluded that Russia has launched multiple attempts to interfere in US elections, most notably in 2016 when they say Russia backed the candidacy of Donald Trump, then the Republican party presidential candidate. 

On Saturday, The New York Times reported that Russia was attempting to interfere in Tuesday's US midterm elections. 

Russia has long denied accusations that it interfered in US elections.

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