Wagner chief Prigozhin ‘had been treated for stomach cancer and felt he had nothing to lose when he decided to launch mutiny’
- The Wagner Group leader turned his forces against the Russian Army on June 23
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin’s battle with cancer may have played a role in his decision to launch an apparent mutiny against Moscow, a report has claimed.
Proekt, a Russian outlet now banned by Russia, originally cited claims from Prigozhin’s former employees saying he had undergone treatment for cancer.
They said his stomach cancer was now in remission after a ‘long time’ undergoing ‘serious therapy’.
One former worker said that the march towards Moscow at the end of last month could show the mindset of a man with little to lose.
Asked what might have prompted the armed rebellion, one anonymous source said: ‘This is a man with a cut-out stomach and intestines!’
In several public videos, Prigozhin expressed his discontent with Russian army operations
Fighters of Wagner private mercenary group, including Roman Yamalutdinov (L), pull out of the headquarters of the Southern Military District to return to base, in the city of Rostov-on-Don, Russia, June 24, 2023
One former employee said: ‘[Prigozhin] had cancer. Now the process of tumor formation seems to have been stopped.’
READ MORE: Putin holds secret meeting with Yevgeny Prigozhin amid claims the Wagner chief will be tasked with assassinating Zelensky as he seeks to return to favour in Moscow
They recalled the PMC leader keeping to a strict diet and only drinking a glass of lemonade.
They denied ever seeing him taking drugs, despite a ‘white powder’ being found during a raid on his house.
‘Since he first fell ill and then recovered, he forbade everyone from communicating with drug traffickers in Africa or Syria.
‘They will put you in a hole.’
Other former employees recalled how Prigozhin ‘beat’ his workers.
The leader’s mutiny, started on June 23, was declared a ‘march for justice’ aimed at removing Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of the General Staff, from their posts.
Prigozhin has clashed throughout the war with Russia’s national armed forces, while sending his private mercenaries to the frontlines to die.
The push made quick progress, seizing Rostov and crossing into Russian regions.
Six Russian army helicopters and a plane were reportedly shot down in the clashes.
But the mutiny did not succeed in its objectives, as Prigozhin negotiated peace via Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko before reaching Moscow.
All charges against the Wagner Group leader were ultimately dropped to allow him to move to Belarus.
Vladimir Putin (left) is pictured with Yevgeny Prigozhin (right), once dubbed ‘Putin’s Chef’ as his catering companies provided services for the Kremlin
Ukrainian firemen continue working to recover the remaining bodies from under the rubble in the Ria Pizza restaurant after a missile attack in downtown Kramatorsk City while the Ukrainian counter offensive rages on in the Donetsk region, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, June 28th, 2023
Earlier this week it was reported that Vladimir Putin had held secret talks at the Kremlin with Prigozhin since the mutiny.
An unannounced session took place on June 29 and was attended by 35 people, including top Kremlin brass and several of Prigozhin’s commanders, the Kremlin admitted.
French publication Libération had earlier cited secret service sources claiming the meeting had taken place, but gave the date as July 1.
‘The details of the meeting are unknown. But the only thing we can say, the President gave his assessment of the company’s [Wagner] actions during the Special Military Operation, and also his assessment of their actions during 24 June,’ the report said.
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