Putin mercenary who ‘waived the skull of a dead Ukrainian’ and called for the killing of civilians DIES after being shot in the head in a mysterious attack
- Propagandist-turned-fighter Igor Mangushev died after being shot in the head
- His wife claimed it was an “attempted murder” on Russian territory
- WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
A pro-Putin spin doctor who notoriously waved the skull of a “dead Ukrainian” fighter on stage in a sickening stunt died today after being shot in the head.
Igor Mangushev, 36, lay in hospital with serious injuries for several days after his wife claimed it was an “attempted murder” on Russian territory.
He died around 6 a.m. from wounds sustained in the previously unexplained February 4 shooting.
The sinister ultra-nationalist activist and propagandist-turned-fighter was seen in sickening footage on stage in August brandishing the alleged skull of an Azov fighter and declaring: “We are alive and this guy is already dead.
“Let him burn in hell. He wasn’t lucky. We’ll make a goblet out of his skull.”
Pro-Putin activist Mangushev said in his sickening tirade: ‘We’ll make a goblet out of your skull’
The address of the pro-Putin ultranationalist came at an unknown time in an unconfirmed location
The shooting of Mangushev – aka Bereg – was seen as a likely warning to his “collaborator” Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner’s private army and one of Vladimir Putin’s closest cronies.
This theory of a “proxy attack” was put forward by leading Russian expert Mark Galeotti, who said: “I think we can safely call this a hit.”
He said: “This could be a warning, or taking a pawn off the board, or a sign that Mr. Prigozhin’s more brutal rivals feel he’s weakened enough to move.”
There was no immediate indication that Mangushev was shot in an act of revenge by Ukraine.
Today, a Ukrainian source told US Insider: “Remember the sadist Mangushev who performed with the skull of a murdered Ukrainian soldier from Mariupol?
“So he died. And they shot him in the head with their own shot.
“Of course, this did not happen at the front … recently Mangushev has been working with Prigozhin and Wagner PMC.”
Igor Mangushev claimed that the skull belonged to a soldier of the Azov regiment who was killed in Mariupol
Over the weekend, Mangushev’s wife Tatiana Azarevich released a video saying he was crushed by the front line at close range.
She claimed he did not receive adequate medical attention and that Russian authorities did not investigate the shooting.
Doctors had told her “the shot was taken at close range, at a 45 degree angle to the back of the head, top down.”
It was “attempted murder” or “execution,” she said.
Igor Mangushev is said to have fought in Ukraine after the Russian invasion
Russian ultra-nationalist fighter Igor Mangushev is pictured in uniform
Ultranationalist Igor Mangushev wears a Russian Army Z-hat
She denied claims he was in the Wagner force – led by Prigozhin but served in the regular Russian army.
“He is an active duty soldier in the Russian Army, a captain of the 4th Brigade of the 2nd Army Corps of the 8th Army of the Russian Armed Forces,” she said.
A video shows the couple on vacation in Lebanon in November.
Mangushev, 36, was the leader of a pro-Russian political movement with ties to the FSB security agency.
In his deranged tirade in August, Mangushev declared, “Why can’t there be reconciliation?
“Ukraine must be de-Ukrainized. The Russian lands of Novorossiya must be returned.
“We are not at war with men of blood and flesh. We are at war with an idea – Ukraine as an anti-Russian state.”
On his Telegram channel, Mangushev openly called for the killing of civilians.
“We will burn down your houses, kill your families, take away your children and raise them to be Russians,” he posted.