Wagner’s rebel Yevgeny Prigozhin is either dead or in one of Putin’s gulags after his failed coup, a former US general has claimed.
Retired General Robert Abrams, who served as commander of the US Armed Forces in Korea, said Prigozhin is most likely dead and likely never to be seen in public again.
He told ABC News: “I think they’ll hide him or send him to prison or treat him in some other way, but I doubt we’ll ever see him again.”
Asked if he thinks Prigozhin is still alive, Abrams replied: “Personally, I don’t think he is, and if he is, he’s in a prison somewhere.”
Prigozhin used to be one of Putin’s trusted confidants, but had become a potent threat, peaking with the attempted mutiny.
Abrams suggested that the alleged meeting between Putin and Prigozhin afterwards was “heavily staged”, adding: “I would be surprised if we actually see living evidence of Putin meeting with Prigozhin.”
Wagner rebel Yevgeny Prigozhin is either dead or in one of Putin’s gulags, according to a former US general
Retired General Robert Abrams (pictured), who served as commander of the US Armed Forces in Korea, said Prigozhin is most likely dead and will undoubtedly be seen again publicly.
Abrams suggested that the alleged meeting between Putin (pictured) and Prigozhin afterwards was “very staged”, adding: “I would be surprised if we actually see living evidence that Putin met Prigozhin.”
Prigozhin reportedly left Russia to live in exile in Belarus after last month’s failed coup, but has not been seen since.
The leader’s mutiny, which began on June 23, was declared a “march for justice” aimed at removing Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov from their posts.
Prigozhin has clashed with Russia’s national armed forces during the war, while sending his private mercenaries to the front lines to die.
The momentum advanced rapidly, seizing Rostov and crossing into the Russian regions.
Six Russian army helicopters and one plane were reportedly shot down in the clashes.
But the mutiny failed to achieve its goals, as Prigozhin negotiated peace through Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko before arriving in Moscow.
Eventually, all charges against the leader of the Wagner Group were dropped to allow him to move to Belarus.
The coup attempt began on June 23 and was called off a day later as Wagner’s soldiers headed for Moscow (pictured: Wagner’s men in Rostov-on-Don on June 24).
Members of the Wagner Group military company guard an area in front of a tank on a street in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on Saturday, June 24.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of the military company Wagner Group, looks out from a military vehicle on a street in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on June 24, 2023, as he was supposedly headed for Belarus.
Two weeks ago, Putin reportedly held a secret meeting with Prigozhin.
The unannounced meeting took place on June 29, less than a week after the Wagner revolt, and was attended by some 35 people, including senior Kremlin officials and several of Prigozhin’s commanders, the Kremlin admitted.
French publication Libération had previously quoted secret service sources as saying the meeting had taken place, but gave the date as July 1.
Since the meeting, Prigozhin appears to be staying in Russia rather than being forced into exile in neighboring Belarus, as his fate previously seemed to have been.
This comes after news broke yesterday that Prigozhin had been treated for stomach cancer and that his illness may have played a role in his decision to launch the attempted riot, according to a report.
Fighters from Wagner’s private mercenary group, including Roman Yamalutdinov (left), leave the headquarters of the Southern Military District to return to the base, in the city of Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on June 24, 2023.
Proekt, a Russian outlet now banned by Russia, originally cited claims by former Prigozhin employees that he had undergone cancer treatment.
They said his stomach cancer was now in remission after a “long time” undergoing “serious therapy”.
A former worker said the march on Moscow late last month could show the mindset of a man who has little to lose.
When asked what could have sparked the armed rebellion, an anonymous source said: “This is a man with his stomach and intestines cut out!”
A former employee said: ‘[Prigozhin] had cancer. It now appears that the process of tumor formation has stopped.
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