A tantalizing new video appears to show the slain Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin speaking out about his “elimination” in the days leading up to his alleged assassination.
It comes amid a wave of conspiracy theories that the Wagner boss may have tricked death by attaching a body double to his doomed business jet that crashed in Russia on Aug. 23.
Many in the West believe he was assassinated at the behest of Vladimir Putin in revenge for the coup he led against the dictator’s regime in June.
In the footage, Prigozhin, 62, is seen in a military uniform in a car and says, “For those who are debating whether I’m alive or not.”
‘How am I doing? It’s the weekend, the second half of August [20]23. I’m in Africa,” he says on camera. “So fans who talk about my exit, my personal life, my earnings or whatever, actually everything is fine.”
A tantalizing new video appears to show the slain Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin speaking out about his “elimination” in the days leading up to his alleged assassination
In the footage, Prigozhin, 62, is seen in a military uniform in a car and says, “For those who are debating whether I’m alive or not.”
The video was posted by Gray Zone, a Telegram channel associated with Wagner.
This was done without comment, but an earlier broadcast showing his grave was captioned: ‘He once said the dead speak louder than the living.’ He proved it!’
Gray Zone did not say when the footage was shot.
But if the video is real, it doesn’t prove that Prigozhin is alive.
He is known to have been in Africa – where Wagner has interests and conducts military operations – before returning to Moscow before the plane crash last week.
Pro-war broadcaster Military Informant suspects the video was taken over the weekend of August 19-20 while he was in Africa — days before Russia said he and nine others were near Moscow when his business jet crashed was killed.
“In just a few days, Prigozhin will return to Russia, where he died in the explosion of his Embraer Legacy 600 business jet in the Tver region on August 23,” the channel said. “A particular shudder emanates from the literally prophetic words of the head of the Wagner PMC, who ironically mentions its possible liquidation.”
Such timing fits with the video’s claim that he was living in Africa in the second half of August 2023. He doesn’t mention the plane crash in the footage.
On August 23, an eyewitness recorded the crash site of a plane near Kuzhenkino, Russia, on which Russian officials say Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was a passenger
Prigozhin says in front of the camera: “Fans who talk about my exit, my private life, my earnings or whatever, actually everything is fine.”
A woman lays flowers on the grave of Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in a plane crash, as people visit the grave to pay tribute to him in Saint Petersburg on Wednesday
The clip’s release comes after it was revealed on Wednesday that a mourner who came to pay her last respects at the Prigozhin Tomb in St. Petersburg was the wife of a man the warlord allegedly served as a corpse.
It was initially reported that the woman was his wife, but further footage indicated that it was actually Irina Krasavina, the wife of Prigozhin’s main double Leonid Krasavin, who was actually visiting the St. Petersburg necropolis.
There is no wreath of Prigozhin’s wife Lyubov, 52, on the grave, but there is one signed by “mother”. Photos apparently also showed his eldest daughter at the scene.
A number of unconfirmed speculations suggested that Krasavin, and not Prigozhin, might have been on the plane.
A Russian passport was previously found showing Krasavin’s picture, albeit in Prigozhin’s name, along with photographs showing the Wagner warlord in various costumes.
Prigozhin is known to have been paranoid about security, using body doubles and other methods to disguise his movements.
One view shows a portrait of Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin at a makeshift memorial in Moscow on Thursday last week
Many in the West believe that Yevgeny Prigozhin (pictured) was assassinated at the behest of Vladimir Putin in revenge for the coup he led against the dictator’s regime in June.
On Wednesday, the Kremlin spokesman said “willful misconduct” was one of the causes of the plane crash that killed Prigozhin last week.
During his daily conference call, Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters that there were “various versions” of what happened and they were being “considered” by Russian investigators.
“Let’s put it this way,” Peskow said, one version includes “willful misconduct.”
The business jet carrying Prigozhin, the founder and leader of the Wagner private military force, and his senior lieutenants crashed halfway between Moscow and St. Petersburg a week ago, killing all seven passengers and three crew members.
The Interstate Aviation Committee, the Moscow-based body that oversees civil aviation in most former Soviet republics, said in an online statement Wednesday that it is not currently investigating the crash, although the agency has an accident investigation division.
Peskov said there could be no international investigation into why the plane fell from the sky and urged reporters to wait until the Russian investigative committee completed its review.
The committee announced last week that it had opened criminal proceedings to investigate possible flight safety violations, a standard procedure in Russia when there is no immediate reason to suspect wrongdoing.
The crash came exactly two months after Prigozhin launched a short-lived armed uprising against Russia’s military leadership, posing the greatest challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s authority in his 23-year rule.
The Kremlin denied any involvement in the crash.
Western officials and analysts expect the private Wagner army to continue operating, particularly in Africa’s Sahel, where Russian mercenaries have provided security from extremist organizations like al-Qaeda and ISIS.
“I’m sure they will find a replacement for Prigozhin,” Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said on Wednesday after chairing talks between EU defense ministers.
“Wagner will continue to act in the service of Putin in Africa and do what they are doing, which does neither contribute to peace in the Sahel nor to the defense of the rights of Saharan Africans,” Borrell said.
Yevgeny Prigozhin was a longtime ally of Vladimir Putin and initially owned a catering business before founding his mercenary group
Vladimir Putin (left) is pictured visiting Yevgeny Prigozhin’s company in St Petersburg in 2010
Yevgeny Prigozhin is pictured with Vladimir Putin in 2010, years before the Wager group is believed to have been formed
Africa is vital to Russia – economically and politically.
That summer, Wagner helped bring about a national referendum in the Central African Republic that consolidated presidential power; it is a key partner of the Malian army in the fight against armed rebels; and it contacted the military junta in Niger, who wanted their services after a coup.
Strengthening ties and undermining Western influence in Africa are top priorities as the Kremlin searches for new allies during its war in Ukraine, where Wagner fighters helped Russia win a long and bloody battle over the city of Bakhmut .
The 54 African nations make up the largest electoral bloc at the United Nations, and Moscow has worked actively to win their support for the invasion.
Russian Telegram channel AST-54 reported: “Some say the video is old, others say it is new and Prigozhin really survived and is in Africa.”
They say that “he doesn’t have 24/7 access to the internet and couldn’t immediately respond to the situation with his private plane crashing.”
However, the broadcaster emphasized: “He also did not address the plane crash, which suggests that the video was taken before the crash.”
“There are no descriptions from those who posted the video.”
“The actual recording date is unknown.”
“It is believed that the video may have been taken a few days before the crash, around August 20.”
“Then Prigozhin was really in Africa and later flew to Russia, where the plane crash happened.”
“But why is he talking about his death? There were no signs of that before the crash.”
Source : www.dailymail.co.uk