Prigozhin believes CIA behind murder of Wagner Group fighter executed on camera

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder and head of the Wagner Group, has claimed that Yevgeny Nuzhin, a member of the Wagner Group, who was executed on camera, could have been "recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and imprisoned for 27 years beforehand in order to infiltrate the Wagner Group and create the conditions for his execution", before being killed by the US secret services.

Source: statement released by the press service of Prigozhin’s company Concord

Quote: "It is absolutely obvious to me that Yevgeny Nuzhin was abducted and brutally murdered by members of the US secret services.

The Wagner Group operational centre is currently investigating the theory that Yevgeny Nuzhin was recruited by the CIA and was imprisoned for 27 years beforehand, due to the fact that the CIA knew in advance about the future [so-called] coup d'état in Ukraine in 2014 and possible conflict on the territory of Ukraine. He infiltrated the Wagner Group and created the conditions for his execution."

Details: The statement said that Nuzhin was a "volunteer" in the Wagner Group and had taken part in military operations, but denied that he had been abducted and killed by his fellow soldiers.

Prigozhin believes that Wagner Group members could not have kidnapped Nuzhin and brought him to the front line without being noticed. In his opinion, this could have been arranged by the US secret services, which "kidnap people all over the world".

He noted that the video contains no cursing in Russian, which is "typical of such videos involving Russians", and the colour of the brick on which Nuzhin's head was lying did not match any brick used in the Russian Federation. He also claimed that the camouflage of the uniforms worn by the people in the video is the same colour as a design by an American company.

Prigozhin added that after being questioned, no Wagner Group member had "proved that they had kidnapped Nuzhin or participated in his execution", although the fighters are distinguished by their "discipline and strict adherence to international norms".

Prigozhin asked Russia’s Prosecutor General to look into the theory that "the American secret services were involved" in Nuzhin’s murder.

Background:

• Yevgeny Nuzhin, a former inmate of Ryazan Penal Colony No. 3, was recruited by the Wagner Group to participate in the war against Ukraine. He surrendered to Ukrainian forces in September. In an interview, Nuzhin stated that he initially planned to surrender and fight on the side of Ukraine, where he said his family lived. On 12 November, Russian Telegram channels posted a video showing the execution of Yevgeny Nuzhin, which was described as "punishment for the traitor".

• Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said the brutal execution of a Russian citizen without trial was "none of their business".

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