A newly released video of Yevgeny Prigozhin purports to show the Wagner group boss in Africa addressing rumours about his wellbeing and threats to his life, just days before his death.
“For everyone discussing whether I’m alive or not and how I’m doing. It’s currently a weekend in the second half of August 2023. I’m in Africa,” Prigozhin says in the short video published by the Grey Zone Telegram channel that is linked to Wagner group.
“So for those who like to speculate about my liquidation, my private life, my work there, or anything else: everything’s fine,” Prigozhin says.
The Guardian was unable to verify the location or date of the video, which was filmed in a moving vehicle.
Prigozhin’s camouflage outfit and hat in the clip released on Thursday matched his appearance from a separate video released on 21 August, which he also claimed was filmed in Africa.
His “weekend in the second half of August” reference suggests the latest clip must have been made on 19 or 20 August, a few days before his death.
Prigozhin died when his business jet crashed on 23 August, two months after he staged an aborted mutiny against Russian military commanders in which his Wagner mercenary troops briefly took control of the southern city of Rostov and advanced towards Moscow.
Weeks before he died, Prigozhin appeared to be in a struggle with Russia’s defence ministry over the future of his business empire in Africa.
His comments in the video suggest he was aware of the risks to his life.
The warlord was known to be preoccupied with his safety, frequently using body doubles and disguises to avoid possible attempts on his life.
The Kremlin has denied killing Prigozhin, calling western intelligence assessments of Vladimir Putin’s involvement “an absolute lie”. The Russian authorities said they were investigating the cause of the crash but have yet to offer a possible version of the incident. Earlier this week, Moscow said the crash would not be investigated under international rules.
Prigozhin was buried in an unusually secret ceremony on the outskirts of his home town of St Petersburg on Tuesday, with his press service announcing the event was closed to outsiders. The Kremlin denied him a state funeral, as Moscow appeared to want to avoid his death turning into a large-scale public show of support for the warlord.
On Thursday, mourners gathered at a cemetery outside Moscow for the funeral of Prigozhin’s second-in-command, Dmitry Utkin, who was also killed in the crash.
Utkin, a former military intelligence officer often described as the co-founder of Wagner, was buried at Mytishchi cemetery on the outskirts of Moscow.
There are few photographs of Utkin but one of those in circulation is a selfie that shows neo-Nazi tattoos on his shoulders.
