On Wednesday, Russia’s emergencies ministry reported a plane crash northwest of Moscow, involving Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner mercenaries.
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The Kremlin-linked businessman, prominent in Ukraine’s conflict, seemingly died after his failed uprising against Russia’s military leaders about two months ago.
At first, authorities declared that the private Embraer Legacy jet had crashed near Kuzhenkino village in the Tver region, resulting in the deaths of all 10 people on board.
Rosaviatsia, Russia’s state aviation agency, released the flight list that confirmed Prigozhin’s presence on the plane.
Prigozhin was listed together with Dmitry Utkin, who is thought to have been a key co-founder and top commander of the Wagner mercenary group.
Five more passengers and three crew members were on the plane as well.
Interfax later stated that the search operations had concluded, and that all 10 individuals on the aircraft were found in the wreckage, according to an emergency services source.
The reason for the crash is still not clear.
Russia’s Investigative Committee has initiated a criminal case due to the breach of traffic safety rules and the operation of air transport following the plane crash, as reported by RIA Novosti. They also mentioned dispatching an investigation team to the crash site.
The Grey Zone Telegram channel, associated with Wagner, alleged that the plane might have been downed by Russian military air defense systems. However, this information couldn’t be confirmed.
A Russian government official, speaking anonymously, informed The Moscow Times that they think the crash and its location weren’t coincidental.
“Not far from the president’s residence in Valdai, there are four divisions of S-300 PMU1s [missile defense systems] guarding the sky,” the source said. “On June 24—a march on Moscow. And on August 24, two missiles. It all adds up.”
“Look how it was falling—it was shot down just like that. The plane just fell out of the sky,” the source added.
According to independent journalist Andrei Zakharov, who referred to an anonymous source, Prigozhin came back to Russia from Africa on Wednesday. This region has been a base for Wagner mercenaries for years, and Prigozhin was recently recorded there for a recruitment video.
“It would be a miracle if he’s on another plane,” the source said.
“It’s a completely clear message to all the elites, to anyone who had any subversive thoughts about the direction of the special military operation, and [other thoughts] in general,” Sobchak said in a Telegram post.
Previously, Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, in a nearly 12-minute audio recording, broke his silence after his disappearance and stated that he acted to protect his fighters and not to topple Vladimir Putin.
A photograph released by the Bumaga news website displayed the windows of the PMC Wagner Center in St. Petersburg illuminated in the form of a cross.
In June, a rebellion led by Prigozhin caused a significant security crisis in Russia, one of the most severe in decades. Later on, the head of Wagner mercenaries gave up his attempt to advance on Moscow. His aim was to overthrow the nation’s military leadership, but he abandoned it due to an eleventh-hour agreement that provided him with legal protection.
Last Tuesday, Prigozhin was seen in a video where he recruited individuals for deployment in Africa. However, the exact recording location of the video remained uncertain.
As the news spread, President Vladimir Putin participated in an event commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Soviet triumph in the Battle of Kursk during World War II.
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