The Russian group Wagner has shown itself willing to pay a reward of 15 million dollars for the head of the Italian Defense Minister, Guido Crosetto, who has recently blamed the mercenary division for the wave of migrants that are arriving on the coasts of the country. This is confirmed by a report from the Italian intelligence services in information they received about ten days ago, before Crosetto made these statements.
"It is unacceptable. We are between the ridiculous and the criminal”, criticized the Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, upon learning of the threat. "Every day information arrives, more or less credible, that those who deal with the security of the Republic must verify, study and, if necessary, contrast," said Crosetto, one of the closest allies of the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni. .
On Monday, the minister surprised by assuring that the increase in arrivals in recent days on the Italian coasts is part of "a clear hybrid war strategy of the Wagner division, mercenaries in the pay of Russia is putting into practice, using its considerable weight in some African countries,” he said in a statement about forces accused of operating in countries such as Libya, Mali and the Central African Republic.
In a call to action to the EU and NATO, the minister asked for help in dealing with the migration situation, arguing that "just as they realized that cyber attacks were part of the global confrontation that has opened up the Ukrainian conflict, they should realize now that the southern European front is also becoming more dangerous every day”. NATO "runs the risk of cracking if the countries most exposed to reprisals of various kinds are left alone, such as the opening of immigration faucets by some states," Crosetto said.
According to data from the Italian Ministry of the Interior, migration has increased to 20,021 people from January 1 to March 15, 2023, compared to 6,263 migrants who arrived in the country in the same period in 2022 and 6,041 in 2021. Everything happens at a time when the Meloni Executive faces significant criticism for the management of the sinking of a boat with some 180 migrants off the Calabrian coast, on February 26, which ended with the death of some 76 people Many of them minors.
The head of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has denied any involvement in the migration issue and has assured that "Crosetto should look less in other directions and deal with his own problems, which he probably has not been able to solve." “We are not aware of what is happening with the migration crisis, we are not dealing with it. We have many problems to deal with, ”he replied, after harshly insulting the Italian minister on his Telegram channel.
