Moscow [Russia], April 24: The son of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov fought alongside mercenary forces from the private Russian military company Wagner in Ukraine, according to Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Peskov, a close confidante of Russian President Vladimir Putin, turned to him to talk about his son's deployment in the war, Prigozhin said on Saturday. The Wagner chief said he advised Peskov against sending his son to join the regular Russian troops, which Prigozhin has repeatedly criticized over poor equipment and inadequate training and leadership.
Peskov's son Nikolay Peskov, who lived in Britain for a long time and is also known as Nikolai Choles, told the tabloid KP in Moscow that he had served because he considered it his duty. The newspaper also published a photo of the 33-year-old in uniform. He is said to have received a medal. Critics, however, said this did not prove his alleged deployment. Prigozhin said that Peskov's son had served as an artilleryman in the embattled eastern Luhansk region under a false name after three weeks of training. Prigozhin praised his military service as exemplary. He said the children of most of Russia's elite were shirking the war effort. "The parents hide them," the 61-year-old Wagner boss complained. Sons of leading Russian figures are sent to the university, where they are exempted from serving in the armed forces, while the children of workers die in the war, Prigozhin said. Prigozhin did not provide any evidence for the deployment of Peskov's son.
Source: Qatar Tribune