Did the U.S./ NATO kill Prigozhin of Wagner?
Wagner is an obstacle to U.S./ NATO plans in Africa and Ukraine. For months, U.S. officials have taunted Prigozhin, making ominous comments. Did they finally make good on their threats?
A few days ago, The Economist magazine published an article claiming that the U.S./ NATO is providing Ukraine with intelligence, mostly collected by spy satellites, to help launch drone attacks deep inside Russia. That the West has been assisting Kiev in terrorist attacks doesn’t come as a surprise.
However, the announcement by The Economist came just days after Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group, was assassinated when (most likely) a bomb was placed on his private jet. That a major western publication is allowed to publish such information reveals the extent to which NATO feels emboldened and will taunt and mock the Kremlin, confident that it won’t retaliate.
For over a year, Kiev has assassinated journalists and military officers inside Russia with near impunity, but the U.S./ NATO have hitherto denied involvement. With these revelations by The Economist, as well as Prigozhin’s murder, we’re entering a new phase of the West’s proxy war against Russia. Until evidence proves otherwise, I accuse NATO — at least the U.S., the UK and Poland — of plotting to kill Prigozhin. The alliance had many reasons to do so.
Since it’s losing big to Russia on the battlefield, NATO and Ukraine will continue to resort to more outrageous acts of terrorism as a way to boost sagging morale and score PR points that western media can churn into pro-Kiev propaganda. Also, Kiev hopes that such terror attacks will provoke the Kremlin to move against a NATO member and thus, ignite a major war in Europe.
The CIA has a long history of assassination of world leaders, geopolitical opponents and anyone deemed an ‘enemy’ by the White House. With a $67 billion a year budget, and the ability to co-opt nearly any person and corporation, the CIA is considered the most powerful (non-military) organization on Earth.
“[Prigozhin should] stay away from open windows,” warned General David Petraeus, a former CIA director and ardent Russia-hater.
“If I were Prigozhin, I’d pay attention to what I eat,” threatened U.S. President Joe Biden, hinting at poisoning.
“Prigozhin will either be dead or there will be a second coup,” ominously predicted Christo Grozev, head of CIA-linked Bellingcat, just a few days before the murder.
These grim comments were uttered this summer in order to cast a shadow on President Vladimir Putin, to insinuate that he might kill Prigozhin. However, we need to take those ominous CIA and White House comments at face value — Could these words have been direct threats against Prigozhin? More than anyone, the CIA and Kiev had a score to settle and wanted Prigozhin dead.
Cui bono? (Who benefits?) is the eternal question that arises when something nefarious takes place. Clearly, NATO and Kiev have the most to gain from the decapitation of the Wagner Group in the August 23 plane crash.
Putin had no reason to kill his old friend from St. Petersburg. The two made peace soon after Prigozhin’s so-called ‘mutiny’, which in fact was directed against corrupt military generals. Prigozhin’s relationship with Putin goes back 30 years, and during those three decades he handled very sensitive operations for the Kremlin.
Blowing an airplane out of the sky is clearly about media optics — so that the event will be filmed and seen by millions across the globe. Putin has absolutely no interest in his country being perceived as a ‘banana republic’ where Kremlin insiders are killed in a brazen, public manner. If Putin, or Defense Ministry officials, had been behind the assassination, they’d have done it quietly, far from the cameras.
Only the U.S., Ukraine, and certain NATO member states, such as Poland and the UK, benefit from Prigozhin’s death. Here are seven other major points to keep in mind:
First, the context. Prigozhin was killed on August 23. On this date in 1939, the USSR and Germany signed a non-aggression pact that led to the division of Poland. This day is one of the most tragic for the Polish nation. Last month, Wagner threatened to “take a trip to Poland” and its soldiers are active in Belarus, along the Polish border. I suspect that Poland’s secret police chose August 23 as the day to kill their hated enemy. Of course, this was done with U.S., UK and Ukrainian help and approval.
Also, the plane crash happened one day before Ukraine’s independence day (August 24). In that sense, the murder of Prigozhin and other Wagner officers was also a ‘gift’ to Ukrainian nationalists who saw the Russian military group as their arch nemesis after Putin.
In spring, Wagner Group single-handedly turned the tide against Ukrainian forces, smashing their impregnable “Bakhmut Fortress” in Donbass. Kiev suffered tremendous losses and its credibility took a beating. During the battle, Prigozhin taunted Zelensky, who is infamous for his vanity and vindictiveness.
As we’ve seen over the past year, NATO and Ukrainian secret services (SBU) have been able to carry out a number of high-profile assassinations across Russia, such as the killing of journalist Darya Dugina. The CIA has actively been recruiting agents inside Russia. Both the CIA and SBU have the human resources inside Russia to carry out Prigozhin’s assassination.
Stopping Wagner in Africa is a top priority for France and the U.S. Projecting Russian influence into Africa is a crucial part of Putin’s foreign policy, and Wagner is the key to this success. Relations with African leaders are built on Prigozhin’s personal charisma. Putin had no interest in losing such an effective asset as Prigozhin. Likewise, by eliminating Prigozhin and his top officers, NATO has dealt a blow to the Kremlin’s ambitions in Africa.
Of course, western media promote the narrative that Putin killed Prigozhin. While the headlines have been more subdued than expected, still they ring to the tone of: “Kremlin denies that it was involved in warlord’s death”. Such an insinuation is a type of ‘dog whistle’ for a western public conditioned to accept racist accusations that Russia is a ‘barbaric Asian country’. Putin is well aware of this and would not give the West any reason to prove itself right.
Top Kremlin opponents, such as billionaire oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky and social media star Alexei Navalny, are very much alive. Both men pose(d) a greater threat to the Kremlin than Prigozhin, but they were prosecuted according to the law for the crimes they committed. (Khodorkovsky was a de facto organized crime boss during the 1990s). But Putin eventually pardoned Khodorkovsky and let him out of prison early. Meanwhile, Navalny is in prison but is still able to make comments for the western media and condemn Putin. So much for the false notion of “Vlad the Impaler”!
Like with any high-profile assassination, we will never know the full truth. But one thing is for certain — the U.S., certain NATO members and Ukraine benefit the most from Prigozhin’s demise, while the Kremlin gains absolutely nothing. All available information points to Western involvement and guilt.
Overall this assassination fits the modus operandi of the U.S./NATO/Ukraine conduct of the war: commit an act of terror, blame Russia. Then corporate media run with the story. See also Nord Stream destruction, missile attacks on Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant, and the Nova Kakhovka dam flood. I believe at one point Russia was even blamed for bombing its own Kerch Strait Bridge.
Cui bono indeed, that is the question, who would benefit the most and I would think the answer to that would be France. Hasn't there been some mention of a gift of wine given to Prigozghin before his departure? I don't know it to be true, but if it were how fitting would it be for France. Just a hunch.