Prigozhin was photographed half-naked when Putin says: «Wagner does not exist»

According to the metadata of the photo circulated in Russian chats, it was taken on July 12th.

A photo of Yevgeny Prigozhin sitting in his underpants was leaked shortly after Vladimir Putin declared that the Wagner group no longer exists.

In the photo, the leader of the mercenaries is sitting on a small unmade bed in a large tent and waving at the camera. He wears a beige T-shirt that shows off his belly and black Y-necks.

Data attached to the photo shows it was taken at 7:24 am on June 12th, 11 days before how Prigozhin announced his armed rebellion in Russia, prompting Putin to denounce him as a traitor.

It is not clear who shared the photo. It first appeared on Friday morning in Russian-language chats on messaging app Telegram, but fits in with an apparent campaign to discredit, shame, and discredit the once-feared warlord.

Last week, six photos were leaked online. the media, which apparently showed Prigozhin wearing several bizarre masks, ill-fitting wigs and fake dwarf beards.

This week, photos from a raid by Russian security forces on Prigozhin's home in St. Petersburg showed that a hospital bed had been set up in one of the rooms. An unnamed source said Prigozhin suffered from cancer.

Also leaked are photos of the mercenary boss in an outlandish disguise

Putin now denies that Prigogine was the real leader of Wagner. In an interview with the Kommersant newspaper, the president confirmed that he met with Prigozhin and 35 Wagner commanders on June 29, five days after their uprising, to offer them the opportunity to fight in the Russian army.

“They could all stick together in one place and continue their service,” he said of his proposal during the meeting. “Nothing will change for them. They will continue to be led by the same person who has been their real commander all this time.”

Kommersant reported that Putin then called this “real” Wagner leader “Sedym,” the military call sign of Andrey Troshev, a former colonel in the Russian army who drinks. He is a veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Chechnya, and in 2016 led the Wagner forces against ISIS in Syria.

Putin said: “Wagner does not exist. There is no law on private military organizations. It simply does not exist.”

Prigozhin never served in the Russian army and was nicknamed “Putin's chef”. Putin said the 62-year-old openly disagreed with him at their meeting after the uprising, when he offered the Wagner leaders the opportunity to join the Russian army.

“Many people nodded when I said this,” Putin said of the reaction of the Wagner commanders. “But Prigozhin, who was sitting in front and did not see this, after listening said: “No, the guys do not agree with this decision.”

Putin, as you know, hates traitors and people who cross the road. him, often ordering his assassins to kill them. After the uprising against Putin, analysts said Prigozhin needed to watch his back, and Joe Biden said Thursday he needs to watch what he eats to avoid poisoning.

The Wagner Group's advertising on billboards across Russia was taken down after the uprising and the signage was removed from the facade of the St. Petersburg headquarters .

The Kremlin also sent envoys to clients of its mercenary services in Africa to inform them that the Russian state would now supply Wagner designs.

The Pentagon said it did not know Prigozhin's whereabouts and that Wagner no longer plays a significant role in the war in Ukraine.

“At this stage, we don’t see Wagner forces participating in any significant capacity to support the fighting in Ukraine,” said Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman.

In May, Wagner announced the capture of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, this is the Kremlin's first military victory in a year.< /p>

On Friday, Minsk reported that Wagner fighters Belarus Territorial Defense Forces have begun training.

The Belarus Ministry of Defense said the military is being trained in skills including tactical shooting, battlefield movement, engineering and tactical medicine. A video released by the ministry shows masked Wagner fighters training Belarusian troops.

“Without a doubt, this is a very rewarding experience for our Belarusian army,” said one soldier, adding that “we did not take part in combat since the end of the war in Afghanistan,” referring to the Soviet invasion in 1979.