Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin knew he was ‘doomed’ and destined to die after he led a failed rebellion against Vladimir Putin, his mother has revealed.
The army general and businessman, who founded the notorious Wagner mercenary group, died when his jet crashed in summer 2023, just two months after his short lived mutiny which saw his fighters seize key military sites in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and advance towards Moscow.
Putin accused Prigozhin, who died aged 62 and was previously a close confidant of the Russian president, of ‘treason’, ‘a stab in the back of our country’, and promised quick punishment after the aborted coup.
Violetta Prigozhina, 85, has now revealed that her son looked ‘doomed’ after the insurrection and told her he was expecting to die in days leading up to his crash.
She also claimed that she tried to convince him against marching to Moscow and that Russian authorities are yet to tell her the cause of his death.
‘When I last saw him, he looked doomed,’ she said in an interview with the Russian outlet Fontanka, the first by a close relative of the late Wagner leader.
When asked if he foresaw his death, she said: ‘Of course.’
Western intelligence believe that the Wagner leader was likely killed by an onboard intentional explosion as retribution by Putin.
Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin knew he was ‘doomed’ and destined to die after he led a failed rebellion against Vladimir Putin , his mother has revealed
The army general and businessman, who founded the notorious Wagner mercenary group, died when his jet crashed in summer 2023
Prigozhin was greeted warmly by locals when he seized key military sites in Rostov-on-Don but he called off the march to Moscow around 120 miles outside of the capital
Prigozhin had been a key leader in the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine after Wagner fighters led the onslaught in crucial areas, including the Battle of Bakhmut.
His mercenaries were deployed in some of conflict’s fiercest battles and he recruited from prisons to bulk up the front line.
But he became incrasingly critical of Russia’s military leaders before launching a rebellion with hundreds of his most loyal fighters.
It came after weeks of escalating tensions with Russia’s defence ministry, who he accused of corruption and of under-supplying Wagner’s troops.
Prigozhina, who runs a pro-war art gallery, said her son had overestimated his support.
She said she warned him: ‘Zhenya, only people on the internet will support you. No one will go with you. People aren’t like that now. No one will come out to the square.’
Prigozhin was greeted warmly by locals when he seized key military sites in Rostov-on-Don but he called off the march to Moscow around 120 miles outside of the capital.
Wagner soldiers shot down a Ka-52 attack helicopter, killing its crew, during the mutiny. They also destroyed an Il-18 military aircraft.
His Wagner fighters seized key military sites in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and advance towards Moscow
Putin accused Prigozhin, who died aged 62 and was previously a close confidant of the Russian president, of ‘treason’
Prigozhin’s jet crashed in the Tver Oblast, north of Moscow. Nine people including the warlord died
Prigozhina said her son eventually stopped the march on Moscow as he couldn’t bear killing more Russian soldiers.
That came after a string of calls with Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko and a number of Russian officials.
Prigozhin, a former convict who spent nine years in prison for robbery and theft, became close with Putin after running high-end Russian restaurants and winning catering contracts for the Kremlin, earning him the nickname ‘Putin’s chef’.
‘He had no intention of overthrowing Putin, that’s for sure,’ Prigozhina said. ‘He wanted to get through to the military leadership’.
She said she and her son were grateful to Putin for helping save her life years before.
‘[Putin] literally saved my life … I needed surgery, and our doctors said they couldn’t help. I already had one foot in the grave. Then Zhenya called [Putin]. He replied: ‘A mother is sacred.’ They sent a helicopter and rushed me to Hamburg.’
Russian authorities quickly moved to seize Prigozhin’s business empire, which included mining ventures in Africa, online troll ‘bot farms’ and his catering business, after his death.
His Wagner forces, who have been accused of atrocities including torture, were designated a terrorist organisation by the UK in September 2023.
Since Prigozhin’s death they have been absorbed into the Russian army and operate under the name Africa Corps.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .