Skeptics say v Prigozhin’s new video, and other factors paint a picture of an assassination target who may have faked his own death.
Newly-released video of Russian mercenary Yevgeny Prigozhin has fueled speculation among conspiracy theorists that the billionaire warlord is still alive, and was not aboard a private jet that crashed north of Moscow after an apparent explosion last week.
Prigozhin, 62, was confirmed to be among the seven Wagner Group fighters and three crew members killed in the crash, Russian authorities claimed, citing DNA evidence.
Skeptics however, pointed to a video released Thursday that purports to show the leader of a short-lived June mutiny against the Kremlin alive and well, which they say paints a picture of an assassination target who may have faked his own death along with his vast resources, penchant for using body doubles, secret funeral and and disinformation expertise.
Moscow has denied involvement in the aviation disaster amid rampant speculation that President Vladimir Putin was behind the death of his former ally-turned “traitor,” even as Russian investigators conceded for the first time Wednesday that the crash may have been “deliberate.”Prigozhin’s new video
Footage of the paramilitary leader bragging about about surviving assassination attempts was posted by the Wagner Group-linked Grey Zone Telegram channel Thursday.
“For those who are discussing whether I’m alive or not, how I’m doing — right now it’s the weekend, second half of August 2023, I’m in Africa,” he said, clad in a camo outfit while riding in a vehicle.
“So for people who like to discuss my liquidation or my private life, how much I earn or whatever else — everything’s OK,” he added.
Prigozhin’s duds matched his appearance in a recruitment video he released two days before the plane crash, which he said was filmed in Africa.
That clip marked his first public address since he brokered a deal to abandon his troop’s march on Moscow to overthrow Russian defense officials in exchange for exile in Belarus.
His “weekend” reference suggests that the footage was filmed on Aug. 19 or 20, and the Grey Zone had earlier posted photos of Prigozhin posing with a large group of young men in the Central African Republic “not long before his departure for Russia,” days before the ill-fated flight to his hometown of St.
