The news of his death in a plane crash last August didn't really come as a surprise. But Yevgeny Prigozhin's death is not a certainty for everyone. Ukrainian intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov expressed doubts about the death of Wagner's boss in an interview with the British newspaper The Financial Times.
Asked about the death of the billionaire, head of the mercenary militia that briefly rebelled against the Kremlin in June 2023, Kyrylo Boudanov called for people “not to draw such quick conclusions.” “I’m not saying he’s not dead or that he’s dead,” said the shadowy man from the Ukrainian General Staff. “I say there is not a single piece of evidence that he is dead.”
Prigozhin was declared dead last August when his private plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Moscow. According to the Russian Federal Aviation Administration, the crash killed all passengers on the plane and Prigozhin's name was on the passenger list. A genetic examination of the bodies by Russian investigators subsequently confirmed the death of Wagner's boss.
Passports found in his house
A few months earlier, in June 2023, the sulphurous billionaire from Saint Petersburg had sent his mercenaries to attack Moscow with the aim of overthrowing the Russian military command with which he was in conflict. Prigozhin criticized the General Staff for not supplying his militia with sufficient ammunition and even targeting his men during bombings. After a few hours and as they prepared to enter Moscow, Wagner's mercenaries suddenly turned back and a secret agreement was reached between Prigozhin and the Kremlin.
During a search of Prigozhin's home after the failed uprising, Russian secret services discovered several passports with different names and a closet full of wigs.
In his interview with the Financial Times, Kyrylo Boudanov also talks about Vladimir Putin's health, a topic that regularly fuels the wildest theories. According to him, the master of the Kremlin regularly uses “clones” to replace him in his television appearances.
When asked about the evidence for what he says, the head of Ukrainian intelligence confirmed that his analysts were studying Putin's “physiognomy”: “the earlobes, the distance between the eyebrows, etc.” “It's not that difficult. You can easily do this yourself,” he added.