Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin appears ‘half-naked’ in bizarre photo since aborted mutiny: Reports

A bizarre image of Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has been making rounds of several Telegram channels and now on Twitter which shows the mercenary group’s boss half-naked sitting inside a tent. The undated image was reportedly first shared by a Wager-affiliated Telegram channel.

About the image

The image shows the Russian mercenary group’s boss in what appeared to be a field tent which shows Prigozhin waving to the camera while sitting upright and seemingly unfazed by his state of undress. The Wagner chief was also seen only wearing a beige T-shirt and his underwear.

WION cannot verify the authenticity of the image.

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This is the first image of the Wagner chief seen since his June 24 announcement of a coup against the Kremlin amid growing discontent with the top Russian defence officials.

Is Wagner chief in Belarus?

It was not immediately clear who or why the image was shared but reports speculate it is part of an apparent campaign to undermine and embarrass the once-feared mercenary group’s chief.

A Belarusian Gayun Monitoring Group speculates that the photograph may have been taken, earlier this week, in Osipovichi, Belarus, where Prigozhin was exiled after his aborted mutiny in Moscow.

A report by The Mirror, citing the group, also said that the image might have been taken on July 12, a day after Gayun reported that a plane belonging to Prigozhin flew to Belarus for the third time. Subsequently, two helicopters flew to Osipovichi, reported the monitoring group, according to the British media report.

However, the next day, Wagner chief’s plane flew back to St. Petersburg in Russia which suggests. that Prigozhin was there to check the new camp.

It was around the time that image was first posted, a report by Financial Times, on Friday, citing analysts and people close to Prigozhin suggested that he might have been granted some time to wrap up his business in Russia before settling in Belarus.

It was also on July 14, that the Kremlin said it will review the legal status of Wagner and similar groups after Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the aborted mutiny by the Russian mercenary group last month does not legally “exist” since there is no Russian law about private military companies.

During the interview with Kommersant newspaper, the Russian president also confirmed that he had met Prigozhin, on June 29 and then named the “real” Wagner leader as “Grey Hair,” the military callsign for Andrei Troshev, a former Russian army colonel.

Prigozhin’s many disguises

The latest image also comes after six photos of the Wagner chief were leaked to the media, last week, where Prigozhin was seen in a series of bizarre disguises and ill-fitting wigs and beards.

WION cannot verify the authenticity of the image.

Russian media outlets also showed images of Prigozhin’s home in St Petersburg being raided where officials reportedly found a number of wigs and photographs of Prigozhin dressed in several disguises.


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