Following reports about Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin being killed in a plane crash, a Russian political analyst has alleged that the warlord is still “alive, well and free”, claiming that it was his doppelganger who was actually killed in the accident.
Alleging that Prigozhin foiled an assassination attempt sanctioned by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dr Valery Solovey claimed that the Wagner boss is now plotting his revenge. Solovey is a former professor at Moscow’s Institute of International Relations, which trains spies and diplomats.
“First, the plane in which Yevgeny Prigozhin was supposed to fly was downed by a Russian air defence system,” Daily Mail quoted Solovey as saying. “There was no explosion on board. It was downed from the outside.”
“How did he end up alive while his close people died? This is the choice he [Prigozhin] was faced with. I'm not talking about the moral side of this choice. God forbid any of us face such a choice. He intends to take revenge for having been faced with such a choice. He intends to take revenge on people who were intending to destroy him, and destroyed people close to him,” he added.
Wagner military commander Dmitry Utkin, 53, and flight attendant Kristina Raspopova, 39, were among other who were killed in the crash.
Solovey said Prigozhin who has access to £1.6 billion in bitcoin will use it to strike back. “That is more than enough for revenge. As for ambition, energy, and courage, he has plenty of that,” he added.
Reports also claimed that the supposed wife of Prigozhin seen at his funeral on Tuesday was actually the spouse of his doppelganger. The woman who was earlier claimed to be Prigozhin's wife Lyubov Prigozhina, 52, was later identified by Russian media as Irina Krasavina, the spouse of his main body double Leonid Krasavin.
Another video released by the Telegram channel linked to the Wagner Group showed Prigozhin in Africa days before his death. In the clip, Prigozhin is heard talking about his threats to his life. Dressed in camouflage, he says, “"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.”
THE WEEK cannot independently verify claims made by the analyst or the location and date of the video.
