On Wednesday evening Russian authorities announced that Wagner Group chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed when his private jet crashed north of Moscow.
It took the Russian authorities “three minutes” to announce that Prigozhin’s name was on the “passenger list” along with Wagner Group co-founder Dmitry Utkin.
Pro-Ukraine Twitter use Igor Sushko said that “The Russian government clearly prepared the announcement. Entire situation is very suspect.”
Alicia Kearns, the Conservative chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs committee, also suggested the speed at which Russian authorities confirmed Prigozhin was on the private jet “should tell us everything we need to know.”
Read more on Russia-Ukraine war:
Former MI6 spy says ‘contract was put out on Prigozhin’ as he had ‘become an embarrassment’
She added, “For Putin there is one unforgivable sin: the betrayal of Putin and Russia.
“He hunts down those he perceives to be traitors, (including) on British shores, such as Alexander Litvinenko and Sergei Skripal.
“Now Yevgeny Prigozhin has been added to that list, ending Putin’s humiliation.”
#BREAKING
Footage that allegedly shows the fall of Prigozhin’s downed plane.#Russia | #Moscow | #Wagner | #WagnerGroup | #Prigozhin #WagnerPMC #Putin #WagnerTonight #WagnerChief #Prigojine pic.twitter.com/nEqGimCNG9— Global Defense Agency (@UsmanZia921) August 24, 2023
Sushko said that he believes that the death of Prigozhin and Wagner Group co-founder are “likely false.”
Sushko wrote on Twitter, “Likely false claims being made that Prigozhin of Wagner PMC was killed in a plane crash near Moscow in Tver. This stinks of Prigozhin’s own plot to disappear.”
Sushko further said it is very suspicious that Prigozhin was listed as a passenger and the fact more than one explosion was heard before the crash, along with how quickly Wikipedia pages of Prigozhin were changed to mirror his alleged death.
Sushko added, “There will be no body to identify. Although it would not be surprising if further planted ‘evidence’ from the crash site will be published.
“Overall, the information operations to categorically convince the public that Prigozhin is dead are way too aggressive to be real.”
Keir Giles, a Russia expert of the think tank Chatham House, has urged caution over the reports of Prigozhin’s death.
According to the Associated Press, Giles said “multiple individuals have changed their name to Yevgeny Prigozhin, as part of his efforts to obfuscate his travels.”
