Thursday, social media accounts associated with Russia's notorious Wagner Group disseminated a video clip said to be the final recording of Wagner co-founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was reportedly slain in a mysterious aircraft accident last week.

In the video, Priogzhin addressed "rumors" that he would be executed for his role in conducting an insurrection against the Russian military, but he assured his supporters that "everything is fine," according to a report by Breitbart News.

The brief video footage depicts Prigozhin seated in a swiftly moving armored vehicle that, according to him, was speeding through Africa. He stated that he recorded the video for those "debating whether or not I'm still alive."

Prigozhin's Comments

“I’m in Africa. So to those who like to spread rumors about wiping me out, my private life, my income or something like that I can say: everything is fine,” he said.

Prigozhin stated that he was recording this message on a "weekend" in the "second half of August 2023," which would likely mean before the August 23 plane crash en route to Moscow that reportedly killed him, Wagner co-founder Dmitry Utkin, several top Wagner commanders, two pilots, and a flight attendant.

Nevertheless, some Wagner admirers hypothesized that the video indicates Prigozhin is still alive today.

According to a popular conspiracy theory, his "body double" died in the plane accident so that Prigozhin could either retire with Vladimir Putin's blessing or covertly plot revenge against those who attempted to eliminate him.

Grey Zone, the Telegram channel associated with Wagner that appears to have posted the video first, did not specify when or where it was shot.

Crash Details

Grey Zone also published some of Prigozhin's purportedly final photos from Africa, including one showing him with a group of black men in what was allegedly the Central African Republic (CAR) shortly before he returned to Russia on what the Russian government claimed was his final journey.

Journalists observed that Prigozhin wore identical camouflage apparel and a watch in his August 21 video message from Africa, his first video message since his aborted mutiny in June. Prigozhin stated in an earlier recording that Wagner was "recruiting real heroes" to help make "Africa even more free."

Tuesday, Prigozhin's remains were reportedly interred in a private ceremony at his native cemetery, Porokhovskoye, in St. Petersburg.

To prevent a throng from assembling at the funeral, the Russian government disseminated false information about alternative locations.

“The funeral ceremony was held behind closed doors, with only close relatives and friends of Prigozhin in attendance. The exact location of the Wagner chief’s tomb has yet to be confirmed, but his media team said everyone was welcome to visit it at the graveyard,” Russian state media claimed.

General Andrey Averyanov, a Russian intelligence officer, was appointed to succeed Prigozhin as supervisor of Wagner's lucrative operations in Africa on Monday.