Wagner chief is likely dead or in jail, claims former US general

It has hardly been days since reports emerged that Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is hiding in Belarus. Now, a former US military official has claimed that Prigozhin is either dead or in jail.

The claims were made by former US General Robert Abrams in an interview with ABC News. "My personal assessment is that I doubt we'll see Prigozhin ever again publicly. I think he'll either be put in hiding, or sent to prison, or dealt with some other way, but I doubt we'll ever see him again," he was quoted as saying.

When asked if Prigozhin is still alive, Abrams said: "I personally don't think he is, and if he is, he's in a prison somewhere."

The reports about Prigozhin's death do not come as a shock since Putin's enemies have a history of getting killed under mysterious circumstances. It now remains to be seen if Prigozhin stays alive after having rebelled against the Russian leader.

Earlier, some reports had claimed that he was in Russia. However, there is still no clarity on where the Wagner chief is currently.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko also made similar claims, in the beginning, stating that Prigozhin was in Russia. "He is in Petersburg ... perhaps he went to Moscow this morning," he told reporters a week ago.

It needs to be noted that the revelations from the former US general come days after Wagner's chief met Russian President Vladimir Putin after aborting the Wagner rebellion. The armed rebellion led by Prigozhin had sparked a crisis in Russia, but Vladimir Putin got lucky as the rebels stood down after striking a deal with the Kremlin.

The meeting took place on June 29 and lasted for about three hours. It also saw commanders from Wagner Group military contractors in attendance.

In a statement issued after the meeting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "The commanders themselves presented their version of what happened. They underscored that they are staunch supporters and soldiers of the head of state and the commander-in-chief, and also said that they are ready to continue to fight for their homeland."

What caused the brief mutiny?

Prigozhin's men had been at the forefront of the Russian assault in eastern Ukraine for months. He had earlier accused the Russian authorities of withholding ammunition supplies.

He accused Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu of "treason" for allegedly withholding ammunition supplies to his forces, leaving them vulnerable. He even claimed that Moscow may be trying to set them up as possible scapegoats if his country loses the war in Ukraine.

"If we retreat, then we will go down in history forever as people who have taken the main step towards losing the war," Prigozhin said. He made the claims in a video posted on the Wagner Orchestra Telegram channel.

He also blamed Russian generals for the thousands of Russian losses the country has suffered since the Ukraine invasion. Prigozhin defended the mutiny, stating that it was an attempt to save his mercenary group and expose the failures of Russia's military leadership, per a report in AFP.

"We went to demonstrate our protest and not to overthrow power in the country," Prigozhin said in an online audio message. Several reports have claimed that he has now been exiled to Belarus.

Wagner, a private military company, used to work closely with Russia's defence ministry. It was founded by Putin's crony, Yevgeny Prigozhin. Last month, he warned the prisoners against deserting.

Putin also confirmed that the group was wholly funded by the Russian federal budget and added that the Russian government has paid the group billions of dollars since the invasion of Ukraine.