In the short video, the Wagner Group leader said he was in Africa; Pictures are said to have been taken the weekend before his death | Photo: Reproduction/Telegram/Gray Area
A video published by a Telegram channel affiliated with the Wagner Group shows militia leader Yevgeny Prigozhin apparently making remarks just days before the plane crash in Russia’s Tver region that killed him on the 23rd plane there Also making sure of his safety was the number 2 of the mercenary group, Dmitry Utkin, and eight other people.
In the short video published by the Gray Zone channel, Prigozhin speaks out about concerns for his safety following the Wagner Group’s failed mutiny against the Russian government at the end of June.
“For those who debate whether I am alive or not: How am I? Now it’s the weekend, the second half of August 2023, I’m in Africa,” Prigozhin says in the pictures. “So for people who like to argue about how to eliminate me, or my personal life, or how much I make, or whatever: it’s okay,” adds the mercenary leader, ending the video with a wave of his hand.
In the images, Prigozhin is wearing the same hat and camouflage clothing as in a video released two days before his death, in which he also said he was in Africa.
A Russian commission is investigating the plane crash, but authorities in the country ruled by Vladimir Putin ruled out an investigation under international rules because it was a domestic flight.
Given the Russian president’s strong track record of eliminating former allies, Western and Ukrainian politicians, as well as Putin’s opponents, believe that Prigozhin was the victim of the Kremlin’s move.
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