Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin of the Wagner Group perished in a plane crash, taking with him nine other passengers, as confirmed by Russia’s civil aviation authority on Wednesday.
A Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel, Grey Zone, earlier reported that an Embraer aircraft was downed by air defences in Tver, situated north of Moscow, en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg. The plane held seven passengers, including Prigozhin, and a crew of three.
The Federal Agency for Air Transport has initiated a probe into the tragic event in Tver. As quoted by the TASS news agency, the agency stated, “Yevgeny Prigozhin’s name appeared on the passenger list of the Embraer plane that crashed in the Tver region.”
Back in late June, a mutiny led by the Wagner boss against Russian authorities was unsuccessful.
Local witnesses in the Grey Zone reported hearing dual explosions preceding the crash and observed two vapour streaks. Tass indicated that the aircraft was engulfed in flames upon impact and mentioned the recovery of “four bodies,” though Prigozhin’s remains remain unconfirmed.
Per the Russian Air Agency’s records, the plane’s flight was under 30 minutes long.
Earlier in July, government spokesperson Dmitry Peskov mentioned a gathering between Prigozhin, his associates, and President Vladimir Putin, which involved 35 participants and spanned three hours. Commenting on Wagner’s actions during the Special Military Operation in Ukraine and the events surrounding the June mutiny, Peskov relayed Putin’s perspectives. He added that Putin had also considered future roles and battles for them.
