Russian state television this Sunday accused the head of the paramilitary company Wagner, Yevgueni Prigozhin, who led a failed uprising last month, of going mad after receiving millions in government money.

“Prigozhin went crazy because of the huge sums,” Dmitri Kisiliov, one of the leading faces of the Kremlin’s media apparatus, said in his weekly show.

“The feeling of believing that everything is allowed started a long time ago, with (Wagner’s) operations in Syria and in Africa,” he said, stating that this feeling was “reconfirmed” after the capture of the Ukrainian cities of Soledar and Bakhmut by Prigozhin’s mercenaries.

After eight days missing, the leader of the Wagner Group released an audio message on Monday thanking people for their support and anticipating “new victories at the front”.

“Today we need your support like never before. And I appreciate it,” Prigozhin said in the message, broadcast by the “Grey Zone” Telegram channel, close to the Wagner Group.

According to Wagner’s boss, the “March for Justice”, which lasted 24 hours and in which the Wagnerites covered almost 800 kilometers and almost reached Moscow, aimed “to fight against the traitors” and to “mobilize” society on June 24, when he led a failed armed uprising in Russia,

“I think we accomplished a lot of that,” he said.

At the same time, Prigozhin was convinced that the Russians will soon see new victories.

“Soon you will see our next victories at the front. Thanks guys,” he concluded without giving further details.

This is Prigozhin’s second post since the Wagner’s failed mutiny on June 24 and his announced departure to Belarus, where the businessman has not yet been seen.

The president of the Duma or the lower house of Russia’s parliament, Viacheslav Volodin, confirmed yesterday that many of the Wagner Group’s mercenaries will continue to serve Russia.

At the same time, Wagner announced this Sunday that it is “temporarily suspending” the work of its recruiting centers for a period of one month due to “temporary non-participation in the military campaign (in Ukraine) and the transfer to Belarus”.