{"id":29766,"date":"2018-02-23T02:28:49","date_gmt":"2018-02-23T02:28:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/?p=29766"},"modified":"2018-02-23T02:28:49","modified_gmt":"2018-02-23T02:28:49","slug":"putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\/","title":{"rendered":"Putin ally said to be in touch with Kremlin, Assad before his mercenaries attacked U.S. troops"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Putin ally said to be in touch with Kremlin, Assad before his mercenaries attacked U.S. troops Yevgeniy Prigozhin, left, shows Vladimir Putin, then prime minister, around his factory outside St. Petersburg&hellip;<\/p>\n<p>You must be logged in to view this content.<\/p>\n<h3>Click here to <a href=\"\/register\">register<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Putin ally said to be in touch with Kremlin, Assad before his mercenaries attacked U.S. troops Yevgeniy Prigozhin, left, shows Vladimir Putin, then prime minister, around his factory outside St. Petersburg&hellip; You must be logged in to view this content. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131481,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[43],"tags":[139,59],"class_list":["post-29766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-russia","tag-russia","tag-syria"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Putin ally said to be in touch with Kremlin, Assad before his mercenaries attacked U.S. troops - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Putin ally said to be in touch with Kremlin, Assad before his mercenaries attacked U.S. troops - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Putin ally said to be in touch with Kremlin, Assad before his mercenaries attacked U.S. troops Yevgeniy Prigozhin, left, shows Vladimir Putin, then prime minister, around his factory outside St. Petersburg&hellip; You must be logged in to view this content. &hellip; Continue reading &rarr;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-02-23T02:28:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/img.washingtonpost.com\/rf\/image_1484w\/2010-2019\/WashingtonPost\/2018\/02\/22\/National-Security\/Images\/Trump_Russia_Probe_Putins_Chef_99867-4b86d.jpg?uuid=4sVVqBgbEeiLCAJ6bMs46w\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Isenberg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Isenberg\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"David Isenberg\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b60308e3aa40f89495fde6cf0bded668\"},\"headline\":\"Putin ally said to be in touch with Kremlin, Assad before his mercenaries attacked U.S. troops\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-02-23T02:28:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1730,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/img.washingtonpost.com\\\/rf\\\/image_1484w\\\/2010-2019\\\/WashingtonPost\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/22\\\/National-Security\\\/Images\\\/Trump_Russia_Probe_Putins_Chef_99867-4b86d.jpg?uuid=4sVVqBgbEeiLCAJ6bMs46w\",\"keywords\":[\"Russia\",\"Syria\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Russia\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\\\/\",\"name\":\"Putin ally said to be in touch with Kremlin, Assad before his mercenaries attacked U.S. troops - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/img.washingtonpost.com\\\/rf\\\/image_1484w\\\/2010-2019\\\/WashingtonPost\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/22\\\/National-Security\\\/Images\\\/Trump_Russia_Probe_Putins_Chef_99867-4b86d.jpg?uuid=4sVVqBgbEeiLCAJ6bMs46w\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-02-23T02:28:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b60308e3aa40f89495fde6cf0bded668\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/img.washingtonpost.com\\\/rf\\\/image_1484w\\\/2010-2019\\\/WashingtonPost\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/22\\\/National-Security\\\/Images\\\/Trump_Russia_Probe_Putins_Chef_99867-4b86d.jpg?uuid=4sVVqBgbEeiLCAJ6bMs46w\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/img.washingtonpost.com\\\/rf\\\/image_1484w\\\/2010-2019\\\/WashingtonPost\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/22\\\/National-Security\\\/Images\\\/Trump_Russia_Probe_Putins_Chef_99867-4b86d.jpg?uuid=4sVVqBgbEeiLCAJ6bMs46w\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Putin ally said to be in touch with Kremlin, Assad before his mercenaries attacked U.S. troops\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/\",\"name\":\"Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire\",\"description\":\"Unpacking the Private Military Complex\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b60308e3aa40f89495fde6cf0bded668\",\"name\":\"David Isenberg\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0a2e33ccc43220f0bd5c218a05e6495b12a424b99c963810cfe2108faf9f3755?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0a2e33ccc43220f0bd5c218a05e6495b12a424b99c963810cfe2108faf9f3755?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0a2e33ccc43220f0bd5c218a05e6495b12a424b99c963810cfe2108faf9f3755?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"David Isenberg\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/author\\\/worden35\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Putin ally said to be in touch with Kremlin, Assad before his mercenaries attacked U.S. troops - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Putin ally said to be in touch with Kremlin, Assad before his mercenaries attacked U.S. troops - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire","og_description":"Putin ally said to be in touch with Kremlin, Assad before his mercenaries attacked U.S. troops Yevgeniy Prigozhin, left, shows Vladimir Putin, then prime minister, around his factory outside St. Petersburg&hellip; You must be logged in to view this content. &hellip; Continue reading &rarr;","og_url":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\/","og_site_name":"Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire","article_published_time":"2018-02-23T02:28:49+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/img.washingtonpost.com\/rf\/image_1484w\/2010-2019\/WashingtonPost\/2018\/02\/22\/National-Security\/Images\/Trump_Russia_Probe_Putins_Chef_99867-4b86d.jpg?uuid=4sVVqBgbEeiLCAJ6bMs46w","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"David Isenberg","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"David Isenberg","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\/"},"author":{"name":"David Isenberg","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/#\/schema\/person\/b60308e3aa40f89495fde6cf0bded668"},"headline":"Putin ally said to be in touch with Kremlin, Assad before his mercenaries attacked U.S. troops","datePublished":"2018-02-23T02:28:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\/"},"wordCount":1730,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/img.washingtonpost.com\/rf\/image_1484w\/2010-2019\/WashingtonPost\/2018\/02\/22\/National-Security\/Images\/Trump_Russia_Probe_Putins_Chef_99867-4b86d.jpg?uuid=4sVVqBgbEeiLCAJ6bMs46w","keywords":["Russia","Syria"],"articleSection":["Russia"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\/","url":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\/","name":"Putin ally said to be in touch with Kremlin, Assad before his mercenaries attacked U.S. troops - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/img.washingtonpost.com\/rf\/image_1484w\/2010-2019\/WashingtonPost\/2018\/02\/22\/National-Security\/Images\/Trump_Russia_Probe_Putins_Chef_99867-4b86d.jpg?uuid=4sVVqBgbEeiLCAJ6bMs46w","datePublished":"2018-02-23T02:28:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/#\/schema\/person\/b60308e3aa40f89495fde6cf0bded668"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/img.washingtonpost.com\/rf\/image_1484w\/2010-2019\/WashingtonPost\/2018\/02\/22\/National-Security\/Images\/Trump_Russia_Probe_Putins_Chef_99867-4b86d.jpg?uuid=4sVVqBgbEeiLCAJ6bMs46w","contentUrl":"https:\/\/img.washingtonpost.com\/rf\/image_1484w\/2010-2019\/WashingtonPost\/2018\/02\/22\/National-Security\/Images\/Trump_Russia_Probe_Putins_Chef_99867-4b86d.jpg?uuid=4sVVqBgbEeiLCAJ6bMs46w"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/putin-ally-said-to-be-in-touch-with-kremlin-assad-before-his-mercenaries-attacked-u-s-troops\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Putin ally said to be in touch with Kremlin, Assad before his mercenaries attacked U.S. troops"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/#website","url":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/","name":"Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire","description":"Unpacking the Private Military Complex","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/#\/schema\/person\/b60308e3aa40f89495fde6cf0bded668","name":"David Isenberg","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0a2e33ccc43220f0bd5c218a05e6495b12a424b99c963810cfe2108faf9f3755?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0a2e33ccc43220f0bd5c218a05e6495b12a424b99c963810cfe2108faf9f3755?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0a2e33ccc43220f0bd5c218a05e6495b12a424b99c963810cfe2108faf9f3755?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"David Isenberg"},"url":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/author\/worden35\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phczRl-7K6","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131481"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29766\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}