LONDON: He dared to challenge the authority of Vladimir Putin. Two months later, he was dead.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, who Russian authorities said was killed in a plane crash north of Moscow on Wednesday, led his Wagner private army out of the shadows and on to the frontlines of Russia’s war in Ukraine, before overplaying his hand in a risky power struggle with the military establishment.

He built up a huge portfolio of interests across many countries, including in real estate, media and minerals. The US accused his operations of manipulating voters in the 2016 presidential election — something Prigozhin himself last year admitted — in favour of Donald Trump.

An investigation is underway into what caused Wednesday’s crash, which came almost two months to the day after he and his mercenaries staged a mutiny in which they took control of a southern city and advanced towards Moscow, shooting down a number of Russian air force planes and killing their pilots.

Zelensky denies Kyiv role in mercenary chief’s death

Putin, who has spoken in the past of his hatred of traitors, had described it as a “stab in the back”.

On Thursday, the Russian president expressed his “condolences” over the crash that killed Prigozhin, describing him as a man who made mistakes but “achieved results”.

“I knew Prigozhin for a very long time, since the early 90s. He was a man of complicated fate, and he made serious mistakes in his life, but he achieved the right results,” Putin added.

He said the investigation into the crash “will take some time”. “It will be conducted in full and brought to a conclusion. There is no doubt about that,” Putin said.

The circumstances of the crash, which claimed the lives of some of Prigozhin’s close entourage, have prompted furious speculation about a possible assassination.

Among those killed in the crash was Dmitry Utkin, a shadowy figure who managed Wagner’s operations and allegedly served in Russian military intelligence.

Wagner deployed in Ukraine soon after Russian armed forces launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022 and by the summer of last year it was enlisting thousands of prisoners to fight for it on front lines.

For months, Prigozhin kept escalating his feud with the top brass, crossing a series of lines as many wondered, in Russia and outside the country, why Putin allowed him to rage unchecked.

Eventually, he was branded a “traitor” by the Russian leader after Wagner launched its rebellion in June, in what was seen as Putin’s biggest challenge to authority since he came to power.

Wagner’s official accounts have been dark since June 26, when Prigozhin published a last audio message.

But accounts close to the group made so-far unproven claims that the plane was brought down by an S-300 surface-to-air missile system.

Even Margarita Simonian, the head of RT — formerly Russia Today — publicly appeared to endorse the assassination theory as she dismissed the idea that Prigozhin had staged his own death.

Prigozhin’s death raised a host of questions, not least surrounding the future of his business empire and the fallout for Putin and the war in Ukraine.

Zelensky denies Kyiv role

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday said his country had “nothing to do” with the presumed death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, instead implying the Kremlin’s responsibility.

“We have nothing to do with this situation, that’s for sure. I think everyone knows who this concerns,” he told reporters a day after the crash.

Also on Thursday, Kyiv said it flew its flag on the Russian-annexed Crimea, in a symbolic win during a “special operation” to mark its second wartime Independence Day.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2023