[Guns N' Coffee]

https://www.businessinsider.com/prig...fficial-2023-7

US official says 'exiled' Wagner boss Prigozhin may not have gone to Belarus at all — and may have used a body double to make it appear as though he fled Russia

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was exiled to Belarus last month after staging an armed rebellion.
But the former Putin ally apparently reappeared in St. Petersburg this week, sparking confusion.
A Pentagon official told The New York Times it appears Prigozhin has mostly been in Russia.

Yevgeny Prigozhin was exiled to Belarus last month after he used his mercenary Wagner Group to stage an armed mutiny against Moscow's military leadership, but after he apparently appeared in St. Petersburg this week, some have questioned whether he'd actually left Russia at all.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, who took credit for convincing Russian President Vladimir Putin not to assassinate Prigozhin, helped broker the deal that ended the revolt, which included Prigozhin's exile. But Lukashenko said Thursday the Wagner boss was already back in Russia.

Former CIA spies told Insider's Sonam Sheth that Prigozhin's swift return signaled weakness on behalf of Putin — who in the past has jailed or even killed adversaries for far less than an armed rebellion.

But things got even weirder with the suggestion that perhaps Prigozhin never went to Belarus.

An unnamed Pentagon official told The New York Times that Prigozhin has actually been in Russia — Moscow or St. Petersburg — for most of the time since the mutiny. The official also said it was unclear if Prigozhin ever went to Belarus, noting he is believed to employ body doubles.

An official also told the Times it did not appear any Wagner troops were in Belarus and that most were still at bases in eastern Ukraine. Lukashenko also told reporters Thursday that it was unclear if the Wagner fighters would come to Belarus after he previously offered them a desert military base.

Prigozhin's history of apparently using body doubles is unclear, but similar rumors have long surrounded Putin. For years conspiracy theories that Putin deployed people who looked like him for security reasons have popped up online, prompting the Kremlin to dismiss them.

Putin has even said he was offered the chance to use body doubles on his visits to Chechnya in the early 2000s, but that he always declined.

[WonderMomma]

Yeah, this whole thing is quite weird. Something off about it. I just can't put my finger on it.


In the mean time, here is a song that was apparently written about him.

"During a search at Prigozhin’s, they found Shnurov’s song “Cook Prigozhin” on a flash drive, which had not previously been performed publicly and apparently was written personally to order.

It joyfully sings about how Prigozhin famously kills and dismembers his enemies.

National Russian hero"

[kellyhound]

Interview with Wagner Commander Lotus on the status of the PMC and its future.

July 07, 2023

Today, going into one of the cafes in the south of Russia, I met a familiar “musician”, sat down and chatted. Suddenly, an unexpected surprise - Anton Elizarov came in, the same Lotus, who is one of the key commanders of the Wagner PMC. We chatted, talked about the situation in Ukraine, remembered some stories. I asked him a question that worries, perhaps, everyone:

Anton, what are you going to do next?

- We were all dismissed on vacation before the beginning of August, there are many tasks ahead that have to be solved, so Evgeny Viktorovich decided to let everyone go to rest. Personally, I have not been to the sea with my family for 5 years, other guys are also now immersed in family issues with their heads. To give everyone an opportunity to rest before the big work that we have to do, such a decision was made by the council of commanders.

- And what's next with PMC "Wagner"?

- In the short term, as I said, we have a lot of work to do. First, we need to rotate the guys in our distant directions, infuse new blood. The second and most difficult thing is access to Belarus. We have to prepare bases, training grounds, coordinate with local governments and administrations, organize interaction with the law agencies enforcement of Belarus and establish logistics. There is a lot of work and the tasks are not easy, but the more difficult the task, the more interesting it is. I think we'll manage.

— And what about Ukraine? Are you worried about what's going on there?

I am following the situation in Ukraine, and, of course, I am worried about what is happening there. But when they don't hear you, they ignore all proposals and ways to resolve issues, even when you talk about it to the whole world, then it's probably better sometimes to step aside and watch what is happening from the outside.

Although it is damn insulting and painful when there are ready-made proposals and opportunities for solving the problem, they are brushed aside. As our wise ancestors used to say, let's wait and see. And we step aside and silently look. But our armored train is on a siding, and we are ready to come to the aid of our Motherland and our people when our Russian people call us.

- In the light of recent events, is there an attack on PMC "Wagner"?

- There is no collision by law enforcement agencies, the President guaranteed this to us. As for society and ordinary people, you can see for yourself: the girls walk around with chevrons, which they lured from our guys, most likely for kisses. The boys wear T-shirts and caps with our symbols, the boys play war games, they have dill as Germans, and Wagner PMC fighters as Red Army soldiers.

- And what is happening in the media now, where they pour mud on Prigozhin?

- In my opinion, biting the Director, all journalists are simply fulfilling the order of Shoigu and Gerasimov, trying to separate PMC "Wagner" from its creator. In my opinion, this is just a raider seizure by the Russian Defense Ministry of the most effective military formation in the world.

Shoigu tried to create his own PMC "Redoubt" and other small companies, but he did not succeed. So, probably, they decided that it was better to pick up the finished one. But they do not take into account that PMC "Wagner" is not just a structure that units people, it is an ideology. Have you heard the story about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table?

So, all the commanders of the Wagner PMC are knights, and our leader is the Director. We cannot be divided, all decisions are made jointly, at the council of commanders. Thus, a structure devoid of a corruption component has been created. All decisions are made at the council and are instantly implemented, without delay and delay, and this is the secret of the effective management of Wagner PMC units and the successful completion of the tasks assigned to the units.

Therefore, PMC "Wagner" cannot be divided, we are strong as long as we are together. Without this, we will disperse to the corners, and the Wagner PMC will cease to exist altogether. As for the desire to divide us from the inside, this will not work. Each of us has become what he is, thanks to Sergei Petrovich and the company he created - Wagner PMC. He brought us together when the state did not need us, he united us and infected us with his ideology of kindness with his fists.

Therefore, PMC "Wagner" cannot be divided, we are strong as long as we are together. Without this, we will disperse to the corners, and the Wagner PMC will cease to exist altogether. As for the desire to divide us from the inside, this will not work. Each of us has become what he is, thanks to Sergei Petrovich and the company he created - Wagner PMC.

He brought us together when the state did not need us, he united us and infected us with his ideology of kindness with his fists. Therefore, PMC "Wagner" cannot be divided, we are strong as long as we are together. Without this, we will disperse to the corners, and the Wagner PMC will cease to exist altogether. As for the desire to divide us from the inside, this will not work.

Each of us has become what he is, thanks to Sergei Petrovich and the company he created - Wagner PMC. He brought us together when the state did not need us,

It's not a secret that most of us were thrown out of the army due to non-compliance with the terms of the contract by generals and colonels-sycophants. For example, I was accused of stealing an apartment received under a social contract, and according to the law, I am entitled to housing from the state. But I was convicted, and those who tried me received new titles.

I am now a Hero of Russia, but the Ministry of Defense is still strenuously trying to evict me from the only housing, throw me out on the street, and they do not care about my merits. And after that they think that I will betray the company and its leader, for the sake of mythical social guarantees I will sign a contract with them?

If these people think so, they are definitely out of their minds. This is not only my opinion, this is the opinion of the majority. okay, I've got to go, I've probably said too much anyway. So far, glad to see you.

[Roosta]

Originally Posted by Guns N' Coffee ↗

https://www.businessinsider.com/prig...fficial-2023-7

US official says 'exiled' Wagner boss Prigozhin may not have gone to Belarus at all — and may have used a body double to make it appear as though he fled Russia

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was exiled to Belarus last month after staging an armed rebellion.
But the former Putin ally apparently reappeared in St. Petersburg this week, sparking confusion.
A Pentagon official told The New York Times it appears Prigozhin has mostly been in Russia.

Yevgeny Prigozhin was exiled to Belarus last month after he used his mercenary Wagner Group to stage an armed mutiny against Moscow's military leadership, but after he apparently appeared in St. Petersburg this week, some have questioned whether he'd actually left Russia at all.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, who took credit for convincing Russian President Vladimir Putin not to assassinate Prigozhin, helped broker the deal that ended the revolt, which included Prigozhin's exile. But Lukashenko said Thursday the Wagner boss was already back in Russia.

Former CIA spies told Insider's Sonam Sheth that Prigozhin's swift return signaled weakness on behalf of Putin — who in the past has jailed or even killed adversaries for far less than an armed rebellion.

But things got even weirder with the suggestion that perhaps Prigozhin never went to Belarus.

An unnamed Pentagon official told The New York Times that Prigozhin has actually been in Russia — Moscow or St. Petersburg — for most of the time since the mutiny. The official also said it was unclear if Prigozhin ever went to Belarus, noting he is believed to employ body doubles.

An official also told the Times it did not appear any Wagner troops were in Belarus and that most were still at bases in eastern Ukraine. Lukashenko also told reporters Thursday that it was unclear if the Wagner fighters would come to Belarus after he previously offered them a desert military base.

Prigozhin's history of apparently using body doubles is unclear, but similar rumors have long surrounded Putin. For years conspiracy theories that Putin deployed people who looked like him for security reasons have popped up online, prompting the Kremlin to dismiss them.

Putin has even said he was offered the chance to use body doubles on his visits to Chechnya in the early 2000s, but that he always declined.

IMO, He will get "Put Off" soon as Poo Tin won't trust him one bit.

[WonderMomma]

Here in the states they're reporting on the TV how no one has actually seen Prigozhin since the day he supposedly went to Belarus... and how that may have been a body double.

I do find it odd that he's reportedly been in Russia the whole time and how we haven't heard much from him. He seems too vain to me not to put out multiple messages by now.

Going to Belarus was a condition of him not being arrested, reportedly. So why has he been in Russia at all?

[Faust]

Originally Posted by WonderMomma ↗

Going to Belarus was a condition of him not being arrested, reportedly. So why has he been in Russia at all?

No shooting messengers, but wasn’t the western narrative that he was ‘given’ Belarus because Putin was so incompetent and scared that his government and army would have easily be defeated by Wagner?

Both seem a little conflicting

[WonderMomma]

Originally Posted by Faust ↗

No shooting messengers, but wasn’t the western narrative that he was ‘given’ Belarus because Putin was so incompetent and scared that his government and army would have easily be defeated by Wagner?

Both seem a little conflicting

I haven’t seen that narrative. But I don’t pay close attention to the mass media. I just heard it on the local news yesterday morning that he hasn’t been seen lately when I was watching for the weather report.

[kellyhound]

The BND is said to have been better informed than previously known about the attempted coup in Russia. According to research by WDR tv and NDR tv, he is said to have followed a conversation between Wagner boss Prigoschin and Lukashenko. The service is under pressure.

On Saturday, June 24th, the world watched spellbound for a possible uprising by the Wagner mercenary group in Russia. In the midst of the chaos, the spies from the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) apparently witnessed a crucial conversation.

According to research by WDR and NDR , the German foreign intelligence service is said to have monitored communication between Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko.The BND is said to have learned directly from Lukashenko's role as a mediator.

Lukashenko had negotiated appropriate security guarantees for Prigozhin if he stopped the coup attempt. As a result, Prigozhin had ended the rebellion and was supposed to go into exile in Belarus - in exchange for impunity.

The content of the communication between Prigozhin and Lukashenko had already become known. However, it was not publicly known that the German foreign intelligence service found out about this from its own sources over the weekend.A spokesman for the BND declined to comment on the matter when asked.

The intelligence service "generally does not comment publicly on matters relating to any intelligence findings or activities," said the spokesman.

This makes no statement as to whether the facts of the case are correct or not. "The Federal Intelligence Service reports on relevant topics, particularly those of the Federal Government and the competent, secretly meeting bodies of the German Bundestag."

The BND was recently under pressure after the media reported that the service only informed the federal government about the attempted coup in Russia on Saturday - at a time when it was already in full swing.

Criticism came mainly from the ranks of the SPD and FDP.Public criticism then increased again after Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) did not clearly present himself to his foreign intelligence service on the ARD program Maischberger.

Scholz had been asked whether media reports were correct, according to which the German foreign secret service had only informed the government about the Wagner troupe's uprising very late. According to Scholz, the services "didn't know beforehand". They would then have "reported what can be observed".

[WonderMomma]

"Reportedly, this is a video of a Wagner PMC convoy arriving to Belarus."

[Roosta]

I'm expecting that camp to go up in flames.