The Defense Ministry’s General Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) said it is currently unable to confirm the death of Yevhen Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC).
Andrey Yusov, representative of HUR, This was stated in an interview with “Okrinform” on Wednesday, September 6, “At the moment, we can confirm with 100% the death of Utkin and some other passengers. Let’s say there are still some unanswered questions regarding Prigozhin.
As for those behind this incident, we must consider who might benefit from it. I think, in principle, the motives here are quite clear.”
He stressed that obtaining final confirmation of Prigozhin’s death or otherwise would require more time.
On August 23, a business jet crashed in the Tver region of Russia. Russian media reported that among the plane’s passengers was Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the “Wagnerite” group, as well as commanders and fighters from his private military group. A few days later, an investigative commission set up by Russia officially confirmed his death in the plane crash.
And on August 29, Prigozhin’s press office announced that he had been buried at Prokhorev Cemetery in St. Petersburg in a private, closed ceremony.
On the other hand, Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anousauskas stated that the number of mercenaries of the private military company “Wagner” in Belarus decreased after the killing of Prigozhin.
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A Russian soldier claimed a unit was wiped out after it became “too laid back” and got drunk before it was subjected to a Ukrainian attack in Svatov.
“From the open sources, I can only say that there has been a noticeable decrease. they [the Wagnerites] They disperse and move to other regions, and some return to Russia or “take a vacation” and possibly join other military companies. LRT publication.
According to Anoushauskas, the situation is very different from three weeks ago, when some of his fighters arrived in Belarus, after Prigozhin’s failed rebellion in Russia. At that time, Poland and Lithuania were concerned that the mercenaries could provoke incidents on the borders with NATO countries.