The head of the Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigoyine, was presumed dead Wednesday night after a plane crash occurred exactly two months to the day after the June rebellion he led against Vladimir Putin.
• Also read: Yevgeny Prigoyine, the unpredictable boss of the Wagner group and enemy of Putin
• Also read: Wagner boss Prigojine killed in plane crash
• Also read: Prigozhin’s death “would not come as a surprise to anyone,” Washington says
“Revenge is best served cold. [Le président russe] “Putin always decided that he would break up with Prigoyine,” said Ferry de Kerckhove, a former Canadian diplomat in Moscow and a professor at the University of Ottawa.
The Russian Civil Aviation Authority and the Wagner Group said on Wednesday evening that Prigozhin was among 10 passengers who died when a private plane crashed on a flight from Moscow to St. Petersburg. His right-hand man, Dmitri Utkin, is also on the list of victims.
Following the announcement of Prigoyine’s death on the Telegram channels of the Wagner group, known for its involvement in the war against Ukraine, netizens called for a backlash against the Kremlin and suspected that the Russian government was behind the crash. Other supporters in turn doubted his death.
Photo: AFP
No surprise
If we knew little about the circumstances surrounding the crash on Wednesday night, Mr de Kerckhove had no doubt that it was an attack.
“The settlement with Putin only ends when his opponents are completely dead,” explains the ex-diplomat and reminds that the Wagner boss is by no means the first victim of the assassination attempt on the Russian president.
In fact, Prigozhin joins the long list of enemies killed by the Kremlin chief, notably his former opponent Boris Nemtsov, who was killed on the streets of Moscow in 2015, but also former Russian intelligence officer Alexander Litvinenko. Fatally poisoned in London in 2006.
A dozen people are said to have been on board the Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft, as shown in the photo. Photo from Wikicommons
failed coup
Last June, Yevgeny Prigozhin instigated an uprising against Russian General Staff and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, led by his men, who briefly seized military bases in southern Russia before heading to Moscow.
Vladimir Putin had called him a “traitor” without saying his name.
He had renounced this mutiny on June 24 with an agreement that provided for him to go to Belarus while his fighters could join him there, join the Russian army or return to civilian life.
“The spectacular elimination of Prigojine and Wagner’s command two months later [leur] “The attempted coup is a signal from Putin to the Russian elite ahead of the 2024 elections,” wrote an aide to the Ukrainian president, Mykhaïlo Podoliak, on X.
The same goes for US President Joe Biden, who said he was “not surprised” at the possible death of Wagner’s boss.
“Few things happen in Russia without Putin having anything to do with them,” he said.
– With AFP
Can you share information about this story with us?
Write to us or call us directly at 1-800-63SCOOP.