Vladimir Putin's top ally sends terrifying message to EU parliament, here's what we know

This week the European Parliamentbranded Russia as a terrorist state for its invasion of Ukraine, similarly, proceedings have begun for labelling the ‘Wagner mercenary group’ as a terrorist organisation.

The symbol of the preferred tool for executions

The ‘Wagner’ group is led by the notorious Russian magnate, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, an outspoken Vladimir Putin ally who has gained a lot of attention this year for his role thus far in the Ukraine War.

According to previous reports, Prigozhin’s mercenarieshave taken up the brunt of the heavy fighting in Ukraine. They have been ruthless on the battlefield, with several atrocities linked to their doing, such as the Bucha massacre and the mass graves found in Lyman.

In recent weeks, footage surfaced of a deranged execution of a Russian mercenary, part of the ‘Wagner’ group, who wanted to defect to the Ukrainian side but was caught in the process. The video shows the combat unit comrades' who take his life by smashing his head with a sledgehammer, Metro reports.

Older footage reveals similar gruesomeexecutions of the ‘Wagner’ group in the Middle East, The Telegraph reports.

The ‘Goodfather’ gesture ‘a la’ St. Petersburg style

In light of the violation of international law by attacking Ukraine’s sovereignty, but also due to the mounting evidence of Russian war crimes, the European Parliament this weekdesignated Russia as a terrorist state.

Responding to the designation, a lawyer of the ‘Wagner mercenary group’ allegedly delivered a violin case to the European Parliament containing a sledgehammer, which the group uses for executions.

According to The Telegraph, Prigozhin, or ‘Putin's chef’ as he is also known, has released a statement where he commented on the sledgehammer gesture.

'I don’t know what law the European Parliament is guided by. But according to our legislation, from today we declare the European Parliament dissolved.’

A social media video has surfaced that supposedly shows the lawyer of the ‘Wagner’ group who reveals a sledgehammer inside the violin case. The sledgehammer contains the Wagner mercenary logo and name and is smeared with artificial blood.

Nevertheless, as of now, it is unclear if this 'gift' has been received by the European Parliament or if it remains merely a 'bad-taste' social media 'theatrical play'.

However, the gesture has fueled the reactions of many high-profile Russian Telegram accounts. Ksenia Sobchak, Russia’s ‘Paris Hilton’ and media celebrity who recently fled and returned to Russia due to embezzlement chargescalled the act ‘godfather games’.

‘Instead of a horse's head, a sledgehammer. ‘Godfather’ games with a St Petersburg pronunciation.’

Sources used:

-Metro: ‘Putin’s crony dubbed ‘the chef’ sends ‘bloodied sledgehammer’ to EU’

-The Telegraph: ‘'Putin's chef' sends bloodied sledgehammer to EU’