Wagner rebel Prigozhin will never be seen again after his botched coup and is either dead or in one of Putin’s gulags, says ex US General
- Retired General Robert Abrams served as the commander of US Forces-Korea
- He said Prigozhin is most likely dead and will never be seen again publicly
Wagner rebel Yevgeny Prigozhin is either dead or in one of Putin’s gulags after his botched coup, an ex US General has claimed.
Retired General Robert Abrams, who served as the commander of US Forces-Korea, said that Prigozhin is most likely dead and will likely never be seen again publicly.
He told ABC News: ‘I think he’ll either be put in hiding or sent to prison or dealt with some other way, but I doubt we’ll ever see him again.’
After being asked if he thinks Prigozhin is still alive, Abrams replied: ‘I personally 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 evolved into a potent threat, reaching its peak with the attempted mutiny.
The alleged meeting between Putin and Prigozhin afterwards was ‘highly staged’, Abrams suggested and added: ‘I’d be surprised if we actually see proof of life that Putin met Prigozhin.’
Wagner rebel Yevgeny Prigozhin is either dead or in one of Putin’s gulags, according to a ex US General
Retired General Robert Abrams (pictured), who served as the commander of US Forces-Korea, said that Prigozhin is most likely dead and will doubtfully ever be seen again publicly
The alleged meeting between Putin (pictured) and Prigozhin afterwards was ‘highly staged’, Abrams suggested and added: ‘I’d be surprised if we actually see proof of life that Putin met Prigozhin’
READ MORE: ‘General Armageddon’ is absent from meeting ‘while he’s interrogated over Wagner uprising’ as Russian army chief Gerasimov is shown in public for the first time since mutiny following rumours he’d been fired
Prigozhin reportedly left Russia to live in exile in Belarus after the failed coup last month but hasn’t been seen since.
The leader’s mutiny, started on June 23, was declared a ‘march for justice’ aimed at removing Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of the General Staff, from their posts.
Prigozhin has clashed throughout the war with Russia’s national armed forces, while sending his private mercenaries to the frontlines to die.
The push made quick progress, seizing Rostov and crossing into Russian regions.
Six Russian army helicopters and a plane were reportedly shot down in the clashes.
But the mutiny did not succeed in its objectives, as Prigozhin negotiated peace via Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko before reaching Moscow.
All charges against the Wagner Group leader were ultimately dropped to allow him to move to Belarus.
The attempted coup started on June 23 and was called off a day later as the Wagner soldiers were en route to Moscow (pictured: Wagner men in Rostov-on-Don on June 24
Members of the Wagner Group military company guard an area standing in front of a tank in a street in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Saturday, June 24
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group military company, was looking out from a military vehicle on a street in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on June 24, 2023, as he reportedly was on his way to 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 top Kremlin brass and several of Prigozhin’s commanders, the Kremlin admitted.
French publication Libération had earlier cited secret service sources claiming the meeting had taken place, but gave the date as July 1.
Since the meeting, Prigozhin appears to be remaining in Russia rather than forced into exile in neighbouring Belarus as seemed his fate earlier.
This comes after it emerged yesterday that Prigozhin had been treated for stomach cancer and his illness may have played a role in his decision to launch the mutiny attempt, a report has claimed.
Fighters of Wagner private mercenary group, including Roman Yamalutdinov (L), pull out of the headquarters of the Southern Military District to return to base, in the city of Rostov-on-Don, Russia, June 24, 2023
Proekt, a Russian outlet now banned by Russia, originally cited claims from Prigozhin’s former employees saying he had undergone treatment for cancer.
They said his stomach cancer was now in remission after a ‘long time’ undergoing ‘serious therapy’.
One former worker said that the march towards Moscow at the end of last month could show the mindset of a man with little to lose.
Asked what might have prompted the armed rebellion, one anonymous source said: ‘This is a man with a cut-out stomach and intestines!’
One former employee said: ‘[Prigozhin] had cancer. Now the process of tumor formation seems to have been stopped.’
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