Russia
Presumed death of Prigozhin arouses speculation and sadness
The authorities quickly confirmed that Prigozhin was on the passenger list of the crashed plane. photo
© Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool EPA/AP/dpa
So far there has been no official confirmation of the mercenary leader’s death. Nevertheless, Prigozhin’s supporters are convinced of an attack and mourn. The Kremlin is also suspected abroad.
The Gray Zone channel, which is close to Prigozhin, had previously spread the news that the plane had been shot down by Russian air defenses. The authors wrote of murder in this regard.
Russia-wide mourning rallies
Prigozhin’s followers reacted with sadness and anger to the news of the alleged death of the 62-year-old. Masses of flowers were laid at the “Patriot” café in St. Petersburg, which many residents of the city associate with Prigozhin and his Wagner troupe, the daily newspaper “Kommersant” reported on Thursday. Mourning and commemoration campaigns were also reported from other Russian cities such as Novosibirsk.
At the former Wagner headquarters in St. Petersburg, flowers and a sledgehammer were laid, the Telegram channel Gray Zone said. The sledgehammer is considered the gruesome identification mark of the Wagner mercenaries after a video showed members of the group using it to murder an alleged defector.
On Wednesday evening, Prigozhin’s private jet en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg crashed in the Tver region. According to official information, all ten occupants died. The flight’s passenger list included Prigozhin’s name. However, the authorities have not officially confirmed the death of the rich and influential businessman. A forensic examination with DNA comparison should clarify the identity of the corpses.
Prigozhin rose to prominence in Russia as a result of Moscow’s war of aggression against Ukraine. On the one hand, after the capture of the city of Bakhmut by his Wagner troops after months of bloody fighting, he was considered a comparatively successful army chief against the background of Russian defeats in Kharkiv and Cherson. On the other hand, he made a name for himself with sharp criticism of his own military leadership, which he accused of incompetence and corruption. In doing so, he gave many ordinary Russians an explanation for what they saw as the unsatisfactory course of the war.
Kremlin is silent
The Kremlin has not yet responded to the news of the death. The state media also only marginally reports on this. Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, whose favorite Prigozhin was long considered, showed up at a concert celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Kursk shortly after the crash became known. After his brief uprising against his own military leadership, Putin called Prigozhin a traitor, but later officially granted him amnesty.
Prigozhin’s crash came as no surprise, the independent internet portal Meduza reported, citing an unnamed informant from the Kremlin administration. “There was a feeling that after the uprising it would end badly, you don’t forgive something like that (in the Kremlin),” Meduza quotes the official as saying.
Kyiv denies involvement
As a precaution, another potential suspect has already denied being involved in an attack on Prigozhin. According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine has nothing to do with the possible death of the Wagner leadership. “Everyone understands who is involved,” he told journalists on Thursday. At the same time, the death of the mercenary leadership benefits Kiev “in a certain sense”.
Baerbock: It’s no coincidence that the world is now looking at the Kremlin
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) expressed understanding for speculation about Prigozhin’s alleged death. Official Russian statements are “not reliable,” she said on the sidelines of a meeting with her Kyrgyz counterpart Dscheenbek Kulubayev in Berlin. Again and again the Kremlin lied to you. “So it’s no coincidence that the whole world is looking to the Kremlin even now when a disgraced ex-Putin confidante suddenly literally falls out of the sky two months after he rehearsed an uprising.”
You know this pattern, said Baerbock and mentioned “deaths and dubious suicides, window crashes, all of which ultimately remain unsolved”. The Green politician called it important “not to trust any claims, fake news or promises made by the Russian President”, but to support Ukraine in its right to self-defense “with everything we have”.
Lithuania: Prigozhin’s fate changes little in the security situation
Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda also suspected the Kremlin of having eliminated Prigozhin. “It shows that the regime is entering the next phase and these people, whatever you call them, are already fighting each other,” he said during a visit to Ukraine, according to Lithuanian media reports. But that has no impact on the security situation. “Prigozhin’s death, if actually confirmed, will change little,” he said.