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On Wednesday, August 23, 62-year-old Russian businessman and Mercenary leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin was supposedly killed in a plane crash in Tver Oblast, Russia. As the reports of the crash are recent, outlets such as The New York Times have claimed that they could possibly be fake. However, Russian authorities insisted that Prigozhin was killed along with all the nine others who were onboard, including three crew members.
Yevgeny Prigozhin is best known for his control over the Wagner group, a Russian Private Military Company that gained worldwide recognition for fighting in the Russo-Ukrainian war. He was also considered a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
However, in June 2023, Prigozhin reportedly attempted to defy Putin as Wagner forces captured the Russian city Rostov-on-Don. After negotiations, the rebellion ended and Prigozhin faced no criminal charges.
The timeline of the plane crash that supposedly killed Yevgeny Prigozhin
On August 23, Yevgeny Prigozhin was reported en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg in an Embraer Legacy 600. Although Prigozhin was reportedly on the passenger list, it was unclear at the time of the incident if he was actually on the plane.
60 miles from its departure point, the private jet reportedly plummeted down to an area near Tver Oblast's Kuzhenkino. Besides Prighozin, the passengers who reportedly died in the crash include Dmitry Utkin and Valery Chekalov, both high-ranking members of the Wagner group.
According to Al Jazeera, there have been various theories surrounding the incident. Rumors have spread that the Embraer Legacy 600 suffered from technical issues, while some sources claim that there were explosives planted on the aircraft.
Daniel Hawkins, a journalist in Moscow, discussed the victim's death:
"(There are) reports in the Russian media, unconfirmed so far, are saying this aircraft could have been taken down by air defence systems. Prigozhin was among those on board or was at least listed as among those people on board."
Hawkins said that according to certain reporters, there was a second plane in the vicinity of Yevgeny Prigozhin's aircraft.
Hawkins said:
“Some journalists report they’re in touch with his press secretary who is refusing to confirm that. A second jet was also in the air that’s turned around and gone back to St Petersburg."
US President Joe Biden said that he would not be shocked if he were to discover that President Vladimir Putin was responsible for the plane crash. Biden said this in light of the fact that Prigozhin had defied the Russian President in the past. However, he added that there is no concrete evidence of what actually happened.
President Biden said:
“I’m not surprised. There is not much that happens in Russia that Putin is not behind, but I don’t know enough to know the answer.”
The plane crash is currently being probed by the Russian Investigative Committee. All 10 bodies have been recovered from the wreckage.
