Former national security advisor to the Trump administration, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, has cast doubt on the reported death of Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash that occurred in late August.

Flynn, speaking in an interview with conservative podcaster Patrick Bet-David, raised questions about the circumstances surrounding Prigozhin’s demise, calling it “total bullshit.”

Prigozhin, often referred to as “Putin’s chef” due to his lucrative government catering contracts, was reportedly killed, along with nine others, when a business jet crashed in Tver Oblast, north of Moscow, on the evening of August 23.

The crash followed a coup attempt carried out by Prigozhin’s private mercenary group against Russian President Vladimir Putin in June.

Flynn’s skepticism emerged during the interview as he pondered who else might have been on the ill-fated plane.

He suggested that Prigozhin might have orchestrated a scheme involving a body double: “Who else was on that plane? If Prigozhin put his own closest advisors on that plane knowing that he was gonna go play some game about being the body double,” Flynn questioned.

The doubts surrounding Prigozhin’s death were further fueled by a report from the UK Daily Mail, citing Russian political analyst Dr. Valery Solovey.

The report claimed that Prigozhin is alive and well, having escaped the plane crash unharmed while a body double perished.

Dr. Solovey, a former professor at Moscow’s Institute of International Relations, suggested that Prigozhin is now plotting his revenge.

These claims align with a CNN report indicating that Prigozhin was in Africa shortly before his reported death.

Dr. Solovey has accused Russian authorities of fabricating evidence, including Prigozhin’s DNA at the crash site, to conceal the alleged body double switch.

Adding intrigue to the unfolding mystery, a video purportedly featuring Yevgeny Prigozhin himself surfaced, showing him in Africa addressing rumors about his wellbeing and threats to his life just days before the plane crash. I

n the video, published by the Grey Zone Telegram channel linked to Wagner Group, Prigozhin dismisses the speculation: “For everyone discussing whether I’m alive or not and how I’m doing… everything’s fine.”

Dr. Solovey’s account of the plane crash also contradicts U.S. intelligence claims, asserting that the aircraft was downed by a Russian air defense system from the outside, rather than an internal explosion.

Solovey contends that Prigozhin’s double was on the plane in his place and that Putin was aware of this arrangement.

The mystery deepens as Dr. Solovey has hinted at revealing Prigozhin’s supposed country of exile in the coming month, refuting claims that he is currently in Africa, where the Wagner private army has significant interests.