VLAD'S U-TURN
Putin ‘orders Wagner warlord to assassinate Zelensky and bring him his head’ in secret meeting despite being in exile
VLADIMIR Putin gave the boss of the mutinous Wagner Group orders to assassinate Ukraine's president at a bombshell meeting days after his failed coup, reports claim.
Yevgeny Prigozhin was meant to go into exile as part of a deal to halt his march on Moscow - but was then secretly welcomed into the Kremlin late last month.
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And now he could try to launch a "great atrocity" on Putin's behalf - which could include a mission to "bring back Volodymyr Zelensky's head", it is claimed.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed today that Putin held talks with Prigozhin on June 29.
The sensational head-to-head came five days after a column of Wagner mercenaries came close to toppling the regime and left Russia on the brink.
Putin has reportedly begun a purge of senior generals suspected of having prior knowledge of the coup attempt.
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But despite a furious televised tirade condemning Prigozhin as a "traitor" , he appears to have made a humiliating U-turn in private.
It renewed speculation about the chaos behind the scenes amid claims of splits in Putin's inner circle and alleged plots to replace him.
The surprise meeting was first revealed today by French paper Liberation, quoting intelligence sources, and confirmed by Putin's mouthpiece.
Peskov said 35 people were invited to a three-hour summit, including Prigozhin and senior field commanders in his Wagner private army.
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Astonishingly, Putin is said to have praised their efforts in Ukraine, less than a week after he admitted Russia narrowly averted "civil war".
Peskov said: "The only thing we can say is that the president gave his assessment of the company's actions at the front during the Special Military Operation and also gave his assessment of the events of June 24."
He also claimed Wagner commanders had reaffirmed their loyalty to Putin at the Kremlin meeting.
He said: "They (the commanders) emphasised that they are staunch supporters and soldiers of the head of state and the supreme commander-in-chief. They also said that they are ready to continue fighting for the Motherland."
Just five days earlier, the mercenaries had seized Russia's war HQ in Rostov-on-Don and shot down a number of aircraft as they came within 120 miles of Moscow.
Prigozhin himself claimed the mutiny was not to overthrow Putin but instead targeted his defence minister Sergei Shoigu and army chief Valery Gerasimov, who he blames for failures in Ukraine.
'Great atrocity'
General Viktor Zolotov, head of the Russian national guard, and Sergei Naryshkin, chief of the SVR Russian foreign intelligence agency, both attended the session, reported Liberation.
But Gerasimov was reportedly kept out in the cold and was absent.
Russia's most senior general was feared to have been "disappeared" in the wake of the coup after he was not seen in public for weeks.
In another twist, he re-emerged today giving missile launch orders to subordinates in a video said to have been recorded yesterday.
Separately today it was claimed Prigozhin may have volunteered for a new mission to win back Putin's favour.
Nobel prize-winner Dmitry Muratov, who runs pioneering investigative news outlet Novaya Gazeta, said: “I think that he may not ask for forgiveness [from Putin] saying: ‘Let me come back’.
“But he may commit some great atrocity for the benefit of Russia.
“He may try to organise an assassination attempt on Zelensky and bring the head of the President of Ukraine to the Kremlin.
“Why not? He must do something that will take away the taste of what Putin called ‘a stab in the back of Russia’.”
'Exile' mystery
News of the bombshell meeting comes after intense speculation over Prigozhin's whereabouts.
The billionaire former hotdog salesman - a close Putin ally for years - was supposed to go into exile in Belarus under a deal brokered by Vlad's puppet dictator Alexander Lukashenko.
At least one army camp was set up for 8,000 of his Wagner soldiers to follow him and establish a new base on Nato's border - but it was left empty.
And Lukashenko backtracked on his earlier claim that Prigozhin was in Minsk, saying he believed the Wagner boss was actually in St Petersburg.
Air tracker sites show his private jet criss-crossing Russia in recent days amid mounting rumours another deal had been done in private to allow him to stay.
And Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg revealed: “We monitor closely where the Wagner soldiers are moving around, and also where he [Prigozhin] is moving”.
He said Prigozhin had been “moving a bit around”, without saying where.
And he added: “I will not go into the details, but we have seen some preparations for hosting large groups of Wagner soldiers in Belarus. So far we haven’t seen so many of them going to Belarus.”
Last week Prigozhin's mansion was raided by police, who revealed images of gold bars, guns and framed photos of severed heads.
They also revealed a cupboard full of wigs and pictures of Prigozhin in series of comical disguises.
The leaks were reportedly intended to humiliate Prigozhin, but analysts say he is still protected at the highest level.
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The Institute for the Study of War said the Russian security services “have the ability to detain Prigozhin or restrict his movements in Russia” but were evidently not doing so.
It said his “ability to freely operate in Russia suggests that Prigozhin is still protected by some security guarantees and/or that the Kremlin continues to prioritise undermining his reputation in Russia over targeting [him] physically or legally.”
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