The Russian mercenary, Yevgeny Prigozhin has been reported as being killed in a plane crash. He was flying from Moscow to St Petersburg on a private jet.
Is this real? I'll wait to see if his body is identified from the wreckage. The alternative view is that this is a stunt and he's actually in Africa.
Two scenarios come to mind regarding what has been happening in Russia:
Scenario One:
Prigozhin wanted to retire, so he sold to the CIA, the idea of his force mutinying and removing Vladimir Putin from power. He kept Putin in the loop of course, and once the CIA had stumped up enough money to fund the adventure, he launched his 24 hour operation, and then buckled as arranged and split the proceeds with Putin and other allies. All of them then roll around on the floor laughing.
Scenario Two:
Russia wanted to move Prigozhin and his Wagner force to Belarus, just north of Kyiv. They did this to protect their nukes there, and to possibly mount another assault on the Ukraine capital if conditions allowed it. The whole exercise in faking a rebellion or mutiny, then having Prigozhin retire to Belarus has the look of providing a valid reason for him to be there. Nothing to see here.
What do you think?
Wagner Group boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin is always in the news. His latest outburst was rather interesting and the below link tries to explain why he says what he says:
Very clearly, these pronouncements are for the Western Media rather than Russians who are mostly entertained by his outbursts and vulgarities. In Russia, Yev’ is a character. The Bad Boy Who Made Good.
In the West, they say he “makes sense” when he massages their delusions, playing fast and loose with facts, as Simplicius has noted. For example, he quotes Wagner losses at 20,000 compared to Ukrainian losses of 50,000 when talking of Bakhmut.
My idea is somewhat different. I think Prigozhin sees himself as Putin's replacement. Putin could well be suffering a terminal illness and given he's something of a romantic when it comes to the Russian Empire, he could have ordered the invasion of Ukraine to bring it back within the fold before he dies.
