Wagner boss Eugene Prigojine vowed to 'die a hero' despite assassination warnings

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko claimed to have received reports of a plot to eliminate the founder of the Wagner Group and sent him a message via the Kremlin

Although acquaintances had warned him that he was in danger of being murdered, Eugène Prigojine seemed convinced that he would “die a hero” (

Image: Prigozhin News Service/UPI/REX/Shutterstock)

Yevgeny Prigozhin has vowed he will 'die a hero' amid warnings relayed by Vladimir Putin that he was at serious risk of assassination, it was claimed tonight.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko claimed to have received reports of a plot to eliminate Wagner's founder and sent him a message via the Kremlin. Lukashenko has denied that his friend Putin assassinates Prigozhin, although that is the working assumption in the West.

The Belarusian leader did not explain the nature of the alleged threat against the warlord or where it came from. It is also unclear exactly when the Minsk tyrant received the warnings, except that he said he was at the time in the Emirates - where he regularly makes private visits - and summoned the ambassador from Russia to relay the threat. But Lukashenko – an ally of Putin – has denied the Kremlin dictator was behind Lukashenko's plane crash.

"The last time we flew to the Emirates, I received very serious information from sources [about] an assassination attempt on Eugene Prigozhin," Lukashenko said. "In less than two hours, they found the Russian ambassador to the Emirates and summoned him to my house.

Lukashenko and his friend Putin enjoy an awkward embrace (

Picture:

SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

“I gave him a cipher message to the Kremlin, Putin and [FSB secret service chief Alexander] Bortnikov about an imminent assassination attempt on Prigozhin,” Lukashenka said. Putin warned Wagner of the threat, Lukashenko said. Progojine said so.

Luca...