Who is Andrey Averyanov? Russian General likely to replace Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin

Russian Intelligence chief Gen. Andrey Averyanov is likely to replace Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin who lost his life in a plane crash in Moscow. On Wednesday, a business executive jet carrying 10 people on board crashed in Moscow’s Tver region. After conducting a thorough genetic analysis, the Russian authorities confirmed that the Wagner chief was one of the people who died in the plane crash. According to the Wall Street Journal, Averyanov is being considered to lead the private group in its operation in Africa. 

As per the American news outlet, Averyanov currently serves as the head of the offensive operation in Russia’s military intelligence service. In the past, the Russian officials have been accused of ordering the assassination of Russian dissidents. In July this year, Averyanov met the African leaders during the Russia-Africa summit. The event also marked Prigozhin’s first public appearance following a brief mutiny against the Kremlin.

Putin’s plan 

The reports of Averyanov being considered to takeover the role of Prigozhin came days after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Wagner mercenary group to sign an “oath of allegiance” along with other private military groups. “All persons entering volunteer formations, and other persons contributing to the fulfilment of the tasks assigned to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, other troops, military formations and bodies and taking part in a special military operation must pledge allegiance to the country and military,” Putin’s decree read.

The decree required the group to take an oath that they will “devote” to the Russian Federation and defend the sovereignty of the country. While the cause of the crash remains unclear, several world leaders alluded that Putin might be behind this. Even US President Joe Biden pointed his fingers towards the Russian president. “I don’t know for a fact what happened, but I’m not surprised,” the US president said at a press briefing after the crash. “There’s not much that happens in Russia that Putin’s not behind. But I don’t know enough to know the answer,” he added.