A Russian propagandist-turned-hired-gun was shot in the head in an attack that analysts believe may have been a warning to the leader of Russia’s growing mercenary Wagner group.
Igor Mangushev, 36, was one of Russia’s most well-known TV spin doctors before enlisting in the army under the call sign Bereg.
In the early hours of Saturday, Mangushev was transported to hospital in Stakhanov in Russia’s eastern Donetsk area with a gunshot wound to the head, The Telegraph says.
His friend Boris Rozhkin posted graphic images of Mangushev lying bloodied on a hospital bed to social media and described his condition as “grave.”
Doctors are claimed to have discovered he was shot at close range by someone using a handgun. At this time, no other specifics of the attack are known.
In his twisted tirade, pro-Putin activist Mangushev claimed, “We’ll make a goblet out of your skull.”
Mark Galeotti, a Russia specialist, opined that Mangushev’s ties to Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the private military firm Wagner, are noteworthy and that this could be a “proxy attack.”
Galeotti stated, “I believe it is safe to call this a success.”
This might be a warning, the removal of a piece, or an indication that Mr. Prigozhin’s more vicious opponents believe he has been weakened sufficiently for them to act.
Mangushev asserted that the skull belonged to a fallen Azov regiment soldier in Mariupol.
Mangushev drew disgust last August, when film emerged of him purportedly waving the skull of a Ukrainian soldier killed in Mariupol on stage.
The perverted ultranationalist said: ‘Why can’t there be any reconciliation?
‘Ukraine must be de-Ukrainized.
The Novorossiya territories must be returned to Russia.
We are not at war with flesh-and-blood individuals. We are at war with a concept — the notion of Ukraine as an anti-Russian state.
He was quoted by Astra media as stating, “We’re alive and he’s already dead,” while holding the skull.
‘Let him burn in hell.
He was not fortunate. We will fashion a goblet from his skull.’
The Ukraine veteran’s address was received at an uncertain place on an undetermined day.
Mangushev is believed to have participated in Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine.
The pro-Putin ultranationalist seen wearing a Russian army ‘Z’ cap has a daughter who is 14 years old.
In his Telegram channel, Mangushev begs for the indiscriminate slaughter of civilians.
“We will burn your homes, murder your families, and raise your children as Russians,” he wrote.
Mangushev allegedly fights against Ukraine, but he is also the leader of the nationalist movement Light Russia and the founder of the FSB-linked private army ENOT.
The performance with a human skull violated at least Article 244 of the Russian Federation’s Criminal Code, which prohibits “desecration of the bodies of the dead.”
It is a war crime under international law as well.
Location and time of the video’s recording were obscure and could not be independently confirmed.
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