Zinger Key Points
- A video showed Prigozhin joking about rumors of his death.
- A plane crash killed Prigozhin and nine others.
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A video has emerged showing Yevgeny Prigozhin, the deceased leader of the Wagner Group, eerily talking about rumors of his demise.
What Happened: The incident occurred shortly before a plane crash in Russia took Prigozhin's life. The video, believed to have been recorded in Africa, was first unveiled on the Wagner-affiliated Grey Zone channel on Telegram and subsequently gained momentum across various social media platforms.
A video of Prigozhin appeared that is reportedly filmed in Africa not long before his death.
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 31, 2023
"So, fans of discussing my death, intimate life, earnings, etc., I am doing fine," Prigozhin says. pic.twitter.com/UcIKpgLNZi
In the footage, Prigozhin is seen saying, "For those discussing whether I am alive or not and how I am doing: it's the weekend, the second half of August 2023, I am in Africa. So, fans of discussing my death, intimate life, earnings, etc., I am doing fine."
Although details around when and where the video was taken are unclear, the attire Prigozhin is seen wearing aligns with another video of him from Africa that was disseminated by Wagner channels around Aug. 21.
The Wagner Group, known for its mercenary activities, operates in several African countries and has been implicated in a slew of human rights abuses.
On Aug. 23, a plane transporting Prigozhin from Moscow to St. Petersburg crashed. All 10 individuals onboard, including Dmitry Utkin, a key associate of Prigozhin, and Valery Chekalov, the group's head of security, died.
Since then, there has been rampant speculation about the nature of the crash. Several analysts believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin may have orchestrated the plane's downing in retribution for the Wagner Group's brief insurrection against the Russian military's top brass in June.
According to multiple reports, Putin was conspicuously absent from Prigozhin's funeral, which took place in St. Petersburg earlier this week.
Now Read: Putin Fled Moscow? Presidential Plane Was Spotted Leaving Country Amid Wagner's Uprising
This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo: Shutterstock
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