THE leader of the Wagner mercenary group has been killed in a plane crash, but could this be more than a mere accident? Could it be… murder?
At first glance, it seems like nothing more than one of the frequent mishaps that so often befall wealthy Russians with ties to the Kremlin, likely caused by overindulgence in vodka.
But there are already dark mutterings that this sudden, unexpected crash was no ordinary drop from 28,000ft to ground in 30 seconds. That the plane may have been brought down by foul means. That the seemingly innocent death of Yevgeny Prigozhin could be murder.
It seems preposterous. Who would have the motive to kill this popular military commander, long a hero in his home of Russia and in the many African countries his mercenary army rules with an iron fist?
More than that, who would have the means? Who could have known the flightpath of Prigozhin’s private jet and the hardware to bring it down with a surface-to-air missile? Or the connections to sneak a bomb disguised as vintage wine on board?
Prigozhin was not a man without powerful friends. And perhaps one of them, such as Russia’s president Vladimir Putin who despite recent reports of a rift between the two is no doubt horrified, will investigate.
Perhaps he will discover there were dark forces at play. A grudge settled. A slight avenged. Or perhaps he will find this was simple mechanical failure and nothing untoward happened at all.
Until then, the death of Prigozhin will remain no more or less than a total mystery.
