Multiple Videos Released of Plane Crash That Reportedly Killed Wagner Group Leader Prigozhin and 10 Others
Wagner chief presumed dead after Russia plane crash
Yevgeny Prigozhin: Wagner chief presumed dead after Russia plane crash
Published
By Frank Gardner, security correspondent, & Robert Greenall & Jaroslav Lukiv
BBC News
Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the passenger list of a jet which crashed in Russia killing all 10 people on board, Russia's civil aviation authority says. Social media linked to the Wagner mercenary group say his private plane was shot down by Russian air defences. Prigozhin died "as a result of actions of traitors to Russia", the Grey Zone Telegram channel posted. Prigozhin led an aborted mutiny against Russia's armed forces in June. However, some experts in Russia and abroad suggest the revolt was staged, and Prigozhin abandoned his "justice march" on Moscow after direct orders from President Vladimir Putin.
Wednesday's crash in the Tver region, north-west of the capital Moscow, comes on the same day that senior Russian general Sergei Surovikin was reportedly sacked as air force chief.
Gen Surovikin was known to have good relations with Prigozhin and had not been seen in public since the mutiny.
Prigozhin's aircraft - an Embraer-135 (EBM-135BJ) - was flying from Moscow to St Petersburg on Wednesday with seven passengers and three crew, Russia's Rosaviatsia aviation authority said.
Senior Wagner commander Dmitry Utkin - who founded the group in 2014 - was also on the passenger list, it said.
The plane is reported to have come down near the village of Kuzhenkino, about half-way between Moscow and St Petersburg. One report said the body of Prigozhin, 62, had been found and identified - this has not been officially confirmed. All 10 bodies have been recovered, Russia's state-run news agency Interfax said. Grey Zone said local residents had heard two bangs before the crash and had seen two vapour trails.
Tass news agency said the plane had caught fire on hitting the ground.
The aircraft had been in the air for less than half-an-hour, it added. An investigation has been launched into the crash and emergency services are searching the scene.
At the same time, Grey Zone reported that a second business jet owned by Prigozhin had landed safely in the Moscow region. . .given the circumstances any claims that his demise, if confirmed, was an accident will see a lot of eyebrows raised.
US President Joe Biden said he was "not surprised" by news of Prigozhin's possible death.
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Wagner Releases Video of Plane Crash That Reportedly Killed Prigozhin
Prigozhin was reportedly among the 10 passengers that were killed in the crash on Wednesday when a private business jet went down in the Tver region as it was traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg, according to Russian state-sponsored media outlet Tass.
The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations or, internationally, EMERCOM was cited as the source confirming the crash and number of casualties.
Wagner-linked Telegram channel The Grey Zone has accused Russian air defense of shooting the plane down, but Russia has not claimed responsibility for the crash.
Newsweekreached out to Russian President Vladimir Putin's press office by email for comment.
The Grey Zone shared a picture of the jet and several videos on Telegram Wednesday afternoon, adding that the plane disappeared from radar shortly before it crashed.
The view after a private jet, allegedly carrying Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin and other passengers, crashed in Russia's northwestern Tver region on August 23. Ten people are reported to have died in the crash.WAGNER TELEGRAM ACCOUNT/ANADOLU AGENCY/GETTY
The videos depicted different stages of the crash, with one showing the plane plummeting through the sky followed by a smoke trail. The people videoing the tragedy screamed in shock as the plane gained speed while dropping through the sky before it disappeared from view behind a line of trees. The plane appeared to be missing a wing as it fell through the sky. Another video showed the plane on the ground as smoke billowed from the flaming wreckage. Several photos also showed the ruined plane still burning after the crash.
"The Embraer Legacy 600 business jet with registration number RA-02795, which belonged to Yevgeny Prigozhin, was shot down by air defense fire of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in the Bologovsky district of the Tver region," an English translation of The Grey Zone's post read.
Newsweek cannot independently verify whether Prigozhin was on the plane, and whether it was shot down by Russian military forces.
Relationships between Prigozhin and Putin grew tense this summer. Resentment from the Wagner Group regarding Russia's actions in the Russia-Ukraine war led to a short-lived mutiny in June. The mutiny caused a major rift between the Kremlin and the Wagner Group, leading to a negotiated deal between both parties that would allow Prigozhin and the mercenaries to seek refuge in Belarus. However, Prigozhin remained in Russia.
Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, reposted a video on X, formerly Twitter, that depicted the plane falling through the sky.
Eyewitnesses reported two explosions that resembled missiles firing before the plane crashed, according to the post.
The jet was burned severely, requiring a forensic medical examination to identify the bodies inside, Gerashchenko said in an earlier post.
"If Prigozhin's death is confirmed, I think we can be fairly certain Putin gave this order,"Gerashchenkoposted.
"He did not and was not going to forgive the humiliation by Prigozhin in June."
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