Sitting in his pants in a tatty tent, the dreaded Wagner leader: Humiliating photo of Prigozhin has leaked as Putin claims warlord isn’t even ‘real’ leader of his band of murderous thugs
- Since the uprising, humiliating photos of the Wagner chief have been leaked
A photo of Yevgeny Prigozhin in a graying T-shirt and underpants surfaced yesterday after Vladimir Putin claimed he was not the “real” leader of the Wagner mercenary group.
The image showed Warlord Prigozhin sitting on an unmade bed in a large tent, apparently waving at the camera.
Data from the photo seemed to show it was taken in June, before the doomed coup in which Putin denounced Prigozhin as a traitor.
Since the uprising, humiliating photos of the Wagner chief have been leaked in an apparent attempt to discredit him.
Putin has denied that Prigozhin was Wagner’s true leader, reportedly calling the real commander “Grey Hair,” the cover name of Andrei Troshev, a former Russian army colonel.
The image showed warlord Prigozhin (pictured) sitting on an unmade bed in a large tent, apparently waving at the camera
Russian despot Vladimir Putin (pictured) has denied that Yevgeny Prigozhin was Wagner’s true leader
Putin reportedly called the real Wagner commander “Grey Hair,” the nom de guerre of Andrei Troshev (pictured), a former Russian army colonel
Formerly named Wagner’s executive director, Troshev fought in Afghanistan and Chechnya and led Wagner’s forces in Syria in 2016. He was awarded Russia’s highest honorary title after the capture of Palmyra from the so-called Islamic State in 2017.
In an interview with Kommersant newspaper, Putin said he met 35 Wagner commanders, including Prigozhin, and offered them the chance to fight in the Russian army.
The meeting is said to have taken place on June 29, five days after the failed uprising.
The Russian president said, “They could all stay together in one place and continue their service.
“They will still be led by the same person who has been their true commander all along.”
The newspaper said that Putin named Troshev as the “real commander.” The Russian president claimed that several Wagner leaders seemed to approve of his offer, but that Prigozhin had rejected it.
The warlord, 62, is said to have fled to Belarus after the short-lived mutiny, but the prime minister said he was in Russia and his current whereabouts are unknown.
Photos purporting to show Prigozhin wearing the wigs as part of various disguises were leaked to state-backed Russian Telegram channels
Prigozhin’s backers say he likely worked as a state agent and leaking these images violates Russian security laws
Humiliating photos of the Wagner chief have been leaked since the uprising in an apparent attempt to discredit him
Kremlin observers suggested that Putin was trying to maintain ties with other Wagner commanders and fighters involved in the war in Ukraine.
But Putin refused to guarantee that the group would be preserved as a combat unit, saying: “The [Wagner] group is here, but it doesn’t exist legally.’
Belarus said Wagner fighters acted as military instructors for its forces near the town of Osipovichy, 80 kilometers outside Minsk.
But the Pentagon said Wagner no longer played a “significant” role in supporting Putin.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that a “direct armed clash” with Russia would have “catastrophic consequences” for NATO.