Wagner Group issue statement after death of Yevgeny Prigozhin
“Godfather” Vladimir Putin is “terrified of what the Wagner Group might do” if he ever admitted to ordering the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, an expert has warned.
The leader mercenary group, who led a failed mutiny against Putin just two months ago, is believed to have been one of 10 people to have died in a plane crash in Russia on Wednesday.
The Kremlin has strongly refuted claims it was behind any assassination, with a spokesman furiously branding that an “absolute lie”.
Following the death of their leader, members of the Wagner Group said in a video: “There is a lot of talk about what the Wagner Group will do in this speculation. We will say one thing. We are already starting. Wait for us.”
Putin only broke his silence on the crash 24 hours later, and Professor Anthony Glees, an intelligence expert from the University of Buckingham in the UK, told The Sun Online: “Putin did not dare to actually say ‘I ordered this traitor to be killed’.
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“Why not? Because he’s still terrified of what the Wagner Group could do. They’re not done yet, for sure.
“Putin reckons he’s the Godfather, and so he is, just for now. But Godfathers get killed by other Godfathers. His time is limited and his position is not strong, it’s weak.”
The expert claimed Putin’s appearance on TV was part of an effort to portray himself as “the strong guy, praising Prigozhin whilst leaving it open as to whether he’d had him killed”.
However, while the Russian president rules the “mafia state”, Professor Glees believes this apparent show of strength is just an act.
On Thursday, Putin broke his silence over Prigozhin’s reported death – 24 hours after the plane crash.
He said the mercenary group chief was a “talented person” but had “made serious mistakes in life”.
The Russian president sent condolences to the families of all 10 people said to be on board the plane but stopped short of explicitly confirming Prigozhin’s death
Putin said in a televised address from his Kremlin residence: “I would like to above all express words of the most sincere condolences to the families of all those who have died.
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“These are people who have made a significant contribution to our common cause of fighting the neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine.”
The Russian president then said he had known Prigozhin since the early 1990s, describing him as a “man with a complicated life”.
Putin said: “He made serious mistakes in life. But he achieved results both for himself, and for the common good when I asked for it – like in the last few months.”
The Kremlin has also furiously hit back at suggestions by some in the West it ordered the assassination of Prigozhin, branding the claims “absolute lies.”
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a briefing on Friday: “There is a lot of speculation around the plane crash and the tragic death of the passengers, including Yevgeny Prigozhin.
“Of course, in the West, this speculation is being presented from a certain angle. All of this is an absolute lie.”
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