Yevgeny Prigozhin is seen in new footage ‘dismissing reports of his elimination’

A tantalising new video appears to show slain Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin commenting on his ‘elimination’ in the days before he was reportedly killed.

It comes amid a wave of conspiracy theories that the Wagner boss may have cheated death by putting a body double on his doomed business jet which crashed in Russia on 23 August.

Many in the West believe he was assassinated at the behest of Vladimir Putin in revenge for the coup he led in June against the dictator’s regime.

In the footage, Prigozhin, 62, is seen wearing military fatigues in a car, and says: ‘For those discussing whether or not I am alive.

‘How am I doing? It’s the weekend, the second half of August [20]23. I am in Africa,’ he says, speaking to camera. ‘So fans of discussing my elimination, intimate life, earnings or whatever, as a matter of fact, everything is fine.’

The video was posted by Grey Zone, a Telegram channel linked to Wagner.

It did so without comment but an earlier post by the channel showing his grave was captioned: ‘He once said that the dead speak louder than the living. He proved it!’

Grey Zone did not say when the footage was filmed.

Yet the video – if genuine – does not prove Prigozhin is alive.

He is known to have been in Africa – where Wagner has interests and military operations – before returning to Moscow ahead of the air crash last week.