War in Ukraine: Zelensky accuses Putin of having “killed” Prigozhin

2023-09-09 04:28:45

This is a serious accusation. This Friday during a press conference in Kiev, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky explained that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had “killed” the boss of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in a plane crash in August: “He killed Prigozhin, at least this is information that we all have, we have no other information. »

A few days earlier, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov had described insinuations, particularly from the West, that the Kremlin had ordered the elimination of Prigozhin as “absolute lies” and “speculation”.

“Traitor”

Wagner’s men were on the front line of fighting in eastern Ukraine, including the battle for the town of Bakhmut, captured by the Russians in May after nearly a year of fierce fighting. Having become an enemy of the Russian president after a mutiny, Prigozhin and his lieutenants were killed in the crash of his private jet between Moscow and Saint Petersburg at the end of August.

Vladimir Putin had described Yevgeny Prigozhin, whom he had known since the 1990s, as a “traitor” because of his armed rebellion of June 23 and 24, directed against the Russian general staff and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who saw Wagner’s men briefly capture military sites in southern Russia before heading toward Moscow. The day after his death, he spoke of a “talented” man who had nevertheless made “serious mistakes in his life”.

Review of all tracks

Yevgeny Prigojine had renounced his mutiny after an agreement which provided for his exile with his men in Belarus. However, he continued to visit Russia and was received at least once at the Kremlin in June.

A week after his death, the Kremlin assured that investigators were examining all avenues, including that of “premeditated crime” to explain this incident.

Wagner, who left Ukraine after its rebellion, remains active in Africa but his future is now up in the air. Wherever it has been deployed, this group is accused of abuses, extrajudicial executions and torture.