Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of Russian mercenary group Wagner who led a brief armed rebellion against Russia’s military leadership in June, was on board a plane that crashed northwest of Moscow on Aug. 23, the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency said.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of Russian mercenary group Wagner who led a brief armed rebellion against Russia’s military leadership in June, was on board a plane that crashed northwest of Moscow on Wednesday, the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency said.
“An investigation has been launched into the crash of the Embraer aircraft, which occurred tonight in the Tver region,” the Federal Air Transport Agency said in a statement, according to the official state news agency TASS. “According to the list of passengers, among them is the name and surname of Yevgeny Prigozhin.”
Passengers aboard
Prigozhin and senior Wagner commander Dmitry Utkin were among 10 people, including three crew members, on board the private Embraer jet when it crashed near the village of Kuzhenkino, in the Tver region, according to Rosaviatsia, the Russian aviation authority.
Prigozhin’s senior aide Valeriy Chekalov and Utkin Dmitriy, a trusted lieutenant of Prigozhin since Wagner was formed were also on the plane, according to list of passengers shared by the Russian aviation agency.
All on board were killed, according to initial details from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Services, which is currently engaged in search operations. The bodies of eight people have been found at the crash site, state media outlet Russia 24 reported. Earlier, TASS reported the plane “burned up” on impact after being in the air for about half an hour.
Investigation initiated
Russian authorities have launched a criminal investigation into the crash. The Russian Investigative Committee has dispatched a team to the scene to ascertain the crash’s causes.
While the exact cause of the crash remains unclear, the ongoing conflict between Prigozhin and the military, coupled with his involvement in a June armed uprising, could potentially serve as motive for state retaliation. Media channels connected to Wagner, a group linked to Prigozhin, quickly speculated that a Russian air defense missile might have downed the plane.
Biden doubts Putin to be behind crash
US President Joe Biden doubts Putin could be behind the crash. “You may recall, I was asked about this,” Biden told CNN. “I said I would be careful what I rode in. I don’t know for a fact what happened, but I’m not surprised.”
Putin was participating in an event in the Kursk region, miles away from the site when the news of the crash broke. The event was held to mark the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany there
The crash
The aircraft connected to Prigozhin attained an altitude of roughly 28,000 feet before the crash, according to flight data. However, publicly accessible flight tracking data abruptly ceased transmitting just after 6 p.m. local time in the vicinity southwest of Tver.
Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti released a video that appears to depict an aircraft plummeting from the sky with one wing absent. While the media has not verified the video’s authenticity, RIA Novosti asserted that it captured the instance of an Embraer jet descending over the Tver area.
Another video from the same source purports to show debris from the plane’s engine at the crash site, featuring the last four digits of the registration number: 2795, matching Prigozhin’s registered plane, RA-02795.
The Embraer Legacy 600, based on the ERJ 145 regional airliner, is commonly used by U.S. airlines and is believed to have previously transported Prigozhin between Rostov-on-Don, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Belarus, particularly during his involvement in a brief mutiny in June.
Who was Yevgeny Prigozhin?
Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private mercenary group, was closely associated with Vladimir Putin. He is also referred to as Putin’s “personal chef,” due to his chain of restaurants. However, Prigozhin’s relationship with Putin deteriorated when he led a significant mutiny that challenged Putin’s rule. He had previously navigated the complexities of Russia’s post-Soviet economy, amassing wealth in the process.
Prigozhin’s prominence grew as his group played a pivotal role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, achieving notable successes for the Kremlin. Notably, just two months ago, on June 23, he led an armed insurrection against Putin, criticizing the military’s handling of the Ukraine conflict.
Despite the march toward Moscow, marked by downing military aircraft and fatalities among Russian servicemen, the uprising was halted by a negotiated deal orchestrated by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. Consequently, criminal charges against Prigozhin were dropped, leading to Putin’s vow to punish those on a “path of treason.”