APA – Dakar (Senegal) – On the eve of the plane crash in which he is presumed dead, Wagner’s boss released a video of himself, claiming he was in Africa.
The leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin apparently died on Wednesday 23 August 2023.
His jet, which had left Moscow on its way to St Petersburg, crashed in the Tver region, killing all ten people on board, whose names were revealed on Wednesday evening by the Russian air transport agency.
On the eve of the crash, Prigozhin broadcast a video of himself claiming to be in Africa. In 41 seconds, Wagner’s boss explained why his mercenaries were in Africa.
“Wagner conducts reconnaissance and research, makes Russia even greater on all continents and makes Africa freer. Justice and happiness for the African people,” he said in the video.
It is difficult to know its exact location in Africa. But several sources indicate that these images were taken in Mali, where more than a thousand men from the paramilitary group are deployed as part of the fight against terrorism, against a background of diplomatic friction between Paris and Bamako.
However, the Malian authorities deny their presence, preferring to speak of Russian instructors. In Libya, Wagner is fighting alongside Khalifa Haftar’s men in the eastern Libyan government. They are also in the Central African Republic, engaged in the war against rebel groups and providing security for the authorities.
Killed in an accident?
The accidental death of Wagner’s number 1 the day after this visit raises questions. According to several reports, his death was linked to his short stay in Africa. According to these reports, he was on the black continent to prevent Moscow from taking control, through Andrei Averyanov, commander of the sinister military intelligence unit 29155, responsible for assassinations abroad.
Investigative journalist Christo Grozev reveals that it was on his return from this trip that Prigozhin’s plane, in the company of Dmitry Utkin and five other members of his entourage, crashed.
A loyal ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin fell from grace after his failed mutiny against the Russian army general staff in June 2023. Involved with his men in the war in Ukraine, the Wagner leader was angry with the Minister of Defense and the Russian army general staff, whom he accused of sabotage.
Thanks to the mediation of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, he and his group found exile in Belarus.
At a press conference in early July, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko revealed the content of the telephone conversation he had with Vladimir Putin during the attempted mutiny.
According to Lukashenko, the Russian president had opted for the elimination of Wagner’s boss. However, he went on to say that he had convinced him to abandon this course in favour of dialogue. In the same vein, in a video that surfaced during the mutiny, Vladimir Putin was overheard responding to a journalist’s question to the effect “that he can forgive everything except treason.”
And in his speech on the day that Prigozhin’s men marched on Moscow, the Russian leader described the Wagner boss as a traitor.
In view of all this, one is left to wonder whether Yevgeny Prigozhin has not paid the full price for his ”treason”.
An investigation has begun to determine the circumstances of the crash.
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