Vladimir Putin's Exiled Mercenary Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is Either Dead or in Prison, Ex-U.S. General Claims
![Putin's Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is Dead or in Prison, General Claims](https://media.radaronline.com/brand-img/B_pri1I6F/480x251/vladimir-putin-yevgeny-prigozhin-either-dead-in-prison-us-generaljpg-1689276499753.jpg 480w, https://media.radaronline.com/brand-img/B_pri1I6F/640x335/vladimir-putin-yevgeny-prigozhin-either-dead-in-prison-us-generaljpg-1689276499753.jpg 640w, https://media.radaronline.com/brand-img/B_pri1I6F/768x402/vladimir-putin-yevgeny-prigozhin-either-dead-in-prison-us-generaljpg-1689276499753.jpg 768w, https://media.radaronline.com/brand-img/B_pri1I6F/1024x536/vladimir-putin-yevgeny-prigozhin-either-dead-in-prison-us-generaljpg-1689276499753.jpg 1024w, https://media.radaronline.com/brand-img/B_pri1I6F/1280x670/vladimir-putin-yevgeny-prigozhin-either-dead-in-prison-us-generaljpg-1689276499753.jpg 1280w, https://media.radaronline.com/brand-img/B_pri1I6F/1440x753/vladimir-putin-yevgeny-prigozhin-either-dead-in-prison-us-generaljpg-1689276499753.jpg 1440w, https://media.radaronline.com/brand-img/B_pri1I6F/1600x837/vladimir-putin-yevgeny-prigozhin-either-dead-in-prison-us-generaljpg-1689276499753.jpg 1600w, https://media.radaronline.com/brand-img/B_pri1I6F/2160x1130/vladimir-putin-yevgeny-prigozhin-either-dead-in-prison-us-generaljpg-1689276499753.jpg 2160w)
July 13 2023, Published 6:30 p.m. ET
Vladimir Putin’s exiled and embattled mercenary chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is rumored to be dead or imprisoned in a Russian gulag after his botched coup attempt, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In the latest development nearly three weeks after he ordered his Wagner mercenaries to march on Moscow, sources suggested that Prigozhin was likely seized and taken into custody following his failed rebellion.
![Putin's Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is Dead or in Prison, General Claims](https://media.radaronline.com/brand-img/0ypYDrfcc/0x0/vladimir-putin-yevgeny-prigozhin-either-dead-in-prison-us-general-1jpg-1689276509728.jpg)
Also startling was one military source’s prediction that the world will never “see Prigozhin again publicly.”
"My personal assessment is that I doubt we’ll see Prigozhin ever again publicly,” retired U.S. General Robert Abrams told ABC News this week.
![Putin's Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is Dead or in Prison, General Claims](https://media.radaronline.com/brand-img/h0Rv767WL/0x0/vladimir-putin-yevgeny-prigozhin-either-dead-in-prison-us-general-3jpg-1689276521486.jpg)
"I think he'll either be put in hiding, or sent to prison, or dealt with some other way,” the former general continued, “but I doubt we’ll ever see him again."
"I personally don't think he is, and if he is, he's in a prison somewhere,” Abrams added when asked whether he thinks Prigozhin is still alive.
Meanwhile, Abrams also suggested that the alleged secret meeting held between Putin and Prigozhin on June 29 was “staged” to make it appear like the mercenary chief was not in prison or dead.
"I'd be surprised if we actually see proof of life that Putin met with Prigozhin,” Abrams told ABC News. "I think it's highly staged."
![Putin's Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is Dead or in Prison, General Claims](https://media.radaronline.com/brand-img/8PsRciWx8/0x0/vladimir-putin-yevgeny-prigozhin-either-dead-in-prison-us-general-2jpg-1689276535675.jpg)
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Prigozhin first disappeared shortly after launching an attempted coup against Putin in Moscow on Saturday, June 24.
The 62-year-old Wagner commander then allegedly appeared in Minsk, Belarus, roughly three days later after striking an amnesty deal with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
![vladimir putin yevgeny prigozhin either dead in prison us general jpg](https://media.radaronline.com/brand-img/Ehu-7rCsz/0x0/vladimir-putin-yevgeny-prigozhin-either-dead-in-prison-us-general-4jpg-1689276548188.jpg)
Most recently, Putin’s police raided Prigozhin’s St. Petersburg home and confiscated nearly $100 million in cash, stockpiles of weapons, and a collection of disguises the mercenary chief apparently used for missions.
Although Putin and Prigozhin allegedly met in secret last month, sources have warned Prigozhin to “stay away from windows” and be “very careful what he eats” after betraying Putin.
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“If I was him, I would be very careful what I ate and where I went,” British MP Tobias Ellwood said late last month. “Putin mops up any dissenting voices himself – he will be plotting.”
“What he did in the last few days didn't happen instantaneously,” Ellwood added. “It has been building for months and months and months.”