The final days of the outspoken, brutal mercenary leader remain shrouded in mystery.
On Aug. 21, 2023, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group military company, speaks to a camera at an unknown location. | Razgruzka_Vagnera telegram channel via APTALLINN, Estonia — Yevgeny Prigozhin smiled as a crowd of adoring fans surrounded his black SUV on June 24 in Russia’s southern city of Rostov-on-Don and cheered him on.
The two scenes, which unfolded just two months apart, provide bookends to the mystery-shrouded final days of the outspoken, brutal mercenary leader who initially appeared to have escaped any retribution for the rebellion that posed the greatest challenge to Putin’s authority in his 23-year rule. Shortly before footage emerged of Prigozhin driving off into the night in Rostov-on-Don, the Kremlin announced a deal to end the mutiny. Prigozhin would “retreat to Belarus,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, without elaborating on whether that meant a permanent exile.
The following morning, on June 27, Russian authorities announced they were dropping the criminal investigation into the revolt, with no charges for the Wagner leader nor any other participants — even though about a dozen Russian troops were killed in clashes and several military aircraft were shot down.
“What will happen to him next? Well, anything can happen in a lifetime. But if you think that Putin is so malicious and vindictive that he will be offed somewhere tomorrow. … No, this will not happen,” Lukashenko assured.Belarusian soldiers attend a training by mercenary fighters from Wagner private military company about 55 miles southeast of Minsk, Belarus, on July 14, 2023. After Yevgeny Prigozhin's mutiny against Russia, the Kremlin cut a deal for him to move to Belarus.
Comments from the Wagner chief himself became rare. Nothing more was posted by his spokespeople beyond the 11-minute audio message issued two days after the mutiny.
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