In the phone conversation, two male voices, allegedly a former Russian senator and a billionaire, criticized the war in Ukraine and the Russian leadership in exceptionally harsh terms.
The 30-minute recording that circulated in the Ukrainian media last week has shaken the Russian elite. The issue is reported by, among other things, a British newspaper The Guardian (you are switching to another service).
The leaked recording is allegedly of a former Russian senator Farkhad Akhmedov and a billionaire Joseph Prigozhin telephone conversation between Both men are known to belong to Putin’s inner circle.
In the phone conversation, two male voices criticized the war in Ukraine and the Russian leadership in exceptionally harsh terms.
– It is completely clear that they ruined the situation of the whole country, the man who sounds like Prigozhin states.
During the phone call, the same man calls those in Putin’s inner circle “tired bastards” who imagine they are gods.
“He let us all down. The whole country, the whole nation”
A man who sounds like Akhmedov, on the other hand, states that Putin is the devil himself.
– He let us all down. The whole country, the whole nation, hell, the man alleged to be Akhmedov is cursing.
The Guardian has not been able to confirm the authenticity of the recording from an impartial source.
Regarding the men allegedly performing on the leaked audio recording, Prigožin has commented on the uproar caused by the call. According to him, it is a provocation, the purpose of which is to cause rifts within the Russian elite.
Prigozhin initially called the recording “fake news”, but later admitted that certain parts of the recording are genuine.
If the recording is found to be a genuine conversation between two influential Russians, it would rarely show clearly what the Russian elite think about the war started by Putin. At the same time, the Kremlin’s possible reaction is certainly feared among the elite.