International/The presumed death of Prigozhin: The head of Wagner, an ally turned enemy of Putin, disappears in a mysterious crash
The shocking news of the presumed death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the paramilitary group Wagner, in a plane crash on Wednesday 23 August. Prigozhin had led a mutiny against Putin two months earlier, but had finally given up on entering Moscow.
The billionaire, who took control of the Russian army headquarters in Rostov-on-Don last June, had accused the Russian army of bombing his group.
His men had even attacked Russian aircraft. Putin condemned this “betrayal” due to excessive personal ambitions.
In the end, Prigozhin negotiated exile in Belarus with Putin, despite the latter’s initial call to murder him.
After the mutiny, Prigozhin remained very discreet and his presence in Belarus was questionable.
In September 2022, he emerged from the shadows as the founder of the paramilitary group Wagner, becoming a media leader on Telegram and appearing on the battlefield in Ukraine, demanding more ammunition.
Despite a Russian victory in Bakhmut in May 2023, tensions with the Russian general staff and defence minister were growing, with Prigozhin accusing them of depriving Wagner of ammunition.
In October, he inaugurated the headquarters of the “Wagner private military company” in St Petersburg.
A native of St Petersburg like Putin, Prigozhin had enjoyed success as a restaurant owner. He is nicknamed “Putin’s chef”, and had been involved in public contracts that would have financed the creation of Wagner, originally made up of veterans of the Russian armed forces and special services.
Pedro OKALAMAR
