Russian puppet leader in Crimea creates PMC with Prigozhin's minion in charge
Sergey Aksyonov, Russian-appointed puppet leader of Ukrainian Crimea, has created a private military company (PMC) called Convoy; the mercenaries who serve there are supervised by Yevgeny Prigozhin's right-hand man who goes by the alias of Mazay [Yevgeny Prigozhin is a founder and financier of the Wagner Group – ed.].
Source: Russian media outlet Vazhnye Istorii (Important Stories)
Details: The media outlet quotes an unnamed source as saying that at the time of its formation, the Convoy PMC had about 300 members in it.
The Convoy's positions are located in Kherson Oblast, which is neighbouring occupied Crimea.
Russian propagandists who visited the PMC's military unit reported that the mercenaries were armed to the teeth, provided with everything they needed, and had a whole apartment building underground as their fortification.
In addition, the PMC has heavy equipment at their disposal, including T-80 and T-90 tanks, as well as their own electronic intelligence devices.
The propagandists' report also mentioned the commander of the Convoy who goes by the alias of Mazay.
The outlet identified him as Konstantin Pikalov, the right-hand man of Yevgeny Prigozhin, and the supervisor of the Convoy PMC in Africa.
Mazay first became known after a joint investigation by Bellingcat and Insider. According to the material, he supervised Prigozhin’s political technologists in Madagascar and the Central African Republic. In the correspondence between the employees, Mazay is described as the only person in the Central African Republic who talks to Prigozhin without fear and as an equal.
In his photos and videos on the Convoy Telegram channel, Pikalov puts an image of the arm patch of the Russian Imperial Convoy (it was a part of the Russian Imperial Guard, a detachment that served as the Tzar's bodyguards – ed.).
"This is Aksyonov's PMC, but the entire command is former employees of the Wagner PMC. All of them are people who have known each other for a long time," a former Convoy mercenary told the outlet.
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