Does the fate of mob boss Wagner still hang in the balance?

Russian state television channel Russia-1 broadcast a program in which it called Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin a "traitor." The channel also stated that the armed uprising launched by Prigozhin was still "under investigation."

This statement contradicts information about an agreement between Prigozhin and Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, according to which Russia would drop all criminal charges against Prigozhin and Wagner members involved in the rebellion would not be investigated or prosecuted.

In the Russia-1 program "60 Minutes" broadcast on July 5th, Russian MP Yevgeny Popov stated that the video filmed during the police raid on Prigozhin's office and residence in St. Petersburg should be considered evidence of "criminal behavior" by the Wagner boss.

Mr. Yevgeny Prigozhin. Photo: AP

The video shows cardboard boxes filled with high-denomination rubles in Prigozhin's office and bundles of US dollars in his luxurious mansion. Additionally, the video also shows other assets of the Wagner tycoon, including a personal helicopter, weapons, a wig collection, a fully equipped medical treatment room, and a collection of commemorative sledgehammers.

The video was released by the program's special guest, journalist Eduard Petrov. Petrov stated that Russian investigators have concluded that the video Prigozhin used – showing missiles striking Wagner's camp – as a pretext to justify the rebellion, was "fake."

Petrov also noted that Prigozhin used multiple passports under different names, which he considered unusual.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin remains concerned with ensuring security in the capital Moscow following the Wagner uprising. Moscow police are now being trained in the use of battlefield weapons, such as grenades and light machine guns, along with “urban combat tactics.”

Regarding Prigozhin, the local news site Fontanka.ru revealed that he "was seen arriving at the office of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in St. Petersburg, accompanied by a security detail" on the evening of July 4th.

Prigozhin appears to have been invited to retrieve weapons seized by the FSB. According to Fontanka.ru, authorities handed over two Saiga rifles, a Mannlicher rifle, several other weapons, a Glock pistol engraved with the name of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, and over $100 million to Prigozhin.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/thoi-su-quoc-te/so-phan-ong-trum-wagner-van-treo-lo-lung-20230706142544015.htm