Wagner group leadership dies in plane crash

A business jet crashed in Russia’s Tver Oblast on the evening of August 23. Rosaviatsiya claims that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner private military company, and other leaders of the terrorist organization were among the plane passengers.

A total of 10 people were on board, including 3 crew members – according to preliminary reports, all of them died. In particular, Prigozhin and his deputy Dmitry Utkin. Russian media report that the Wagner leader and the entire team flew to Africa.

Telegram channels close to the Wagner claim that Russian anti-aircraft defenses shot the plane down. The version of the terrorist attack on board is also being considered. Eyewitnesses say that the plane began to fall after an explosion in the air.

“A hero of Russia, a true patriot of his Motherland, Prigozhin, died as a result of the actions of Russian traitors,” a Telegram channel close to Wagner PMC, Grey Zone, reported.

The plane crash happened exactly two months after “Wagner”’s “rebellion.” On June 23-24, a private military company headed by Prigozhin tried to commit a “mutiny” against the current leadership of the Ministry of Defense of Russia.

“Just add Prigozhin to the list of over 30 Russian counterparts of Putin who have fallen out of buildings, been poisoned. Evil vs Evil,” First Vice President of the Ukrainian World Congress and Co-Chair of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, Stefan Romaniw, said.

US President Joe Biden suggested that Putin could be behind the plane crash. “I said [if I were Prigozhin] I would be careful what I rode in. I don’t know for a fact what happened, but I’m not surprised,” Biden added. The American president added, “not much that happens in Russia that Putin is not behind but I don’t know enough to know the answer.”

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was not involved in the death of Prigozhin. “We have no relationship with this. Everyone understands who has a relationship,” Zelenskyy said.