Son of Putin's press secretary joined Wagner under forged documents to 'fight' Ukraine

New Delhi: The founder of the Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin has claimed that Nikolai Choles, son of Dmitry Peskov, the Russian president’s press secretary, fought in Ukraine, reported Meduza. Nikolai Choles (33), the eldest son of Dmitry Peskov, has earlier lived in the UK for around 10 years. He returned to Russia in the year 2011-12. Choles has also worked with the Russian state broadcaster RT as a correspondent. He and his father are reportedly under US sanctions. The Wagner Group chief stated that he added Choles “using forged documents, changing his last name, first name and patronymic”. Prigozhin also gave details about where he had served in Ukraine. “After that, when he left for Luhansk, it was necessary to expand the combined artillery battalion, and he was sent to join an Uragan [multiple rocket launcher] crew,” he said, reported Meduza. Prigozhin also claimed that Dmitry Peskov had asked him to “take [Nikolai] on as a simple artilleryman”.

Choles, in an interview to Komsomolskaya Pravda, claimed that his father helped him join the Wagner Group. He also said that he used a fake name, and received a medal “for valour” for “a certain combat feat” in Ukraine. Notably, many media outlets raised doubts whether Choles went to war or not. It was reported that his Tesla car continued to receive fines in Moscow. According to Meduza, a Telegram channel with the name Cheka-OGPU, the Tesla Model X owned by Choles, until March 2023, reportedly violated traffic rules on 24 July and 6 November 2022. This was the same time during which it is believed that he was supposedly in Ukraine. However, some former and current gunners of the Wagner Group told a Telegram channel VChK-OGPU that they didn’t see him “neither in the Soledar, nor in the Bakhmut directions.” It was also reported that last September he was targeted by a prank live on YouTube, where he appeared reluctant to join the armed forces. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.