A private Embraer plane crashed today in Russia’s Tver region with ten passengers on board, including the head of the Wagner groupYevgueni Prigozhin, as reported by the civil aviation agency Rossaviatsia to local media.
Rossaviatsia specified that the passenger list contained the first and last name of Prigozhin, who led an armed uprising against the Kremlin last June.
“According to preliminary data, all occupants have died,” the Ministry of Emergency Situations reports.
It has also been indicated for the time being that the founder of the Wagner Group, Dmitry Utkin, was on the plane.
Russian emergency services today rescued eight bodies at the scene of the accident. According to the official RIA Novosti agency, rescue services have not yet confirmed the identity of the bodies found near the town of Kuzhenkino.
According to the press, the bodies are completely charred, so it will likely be necessary to perform a DNA test to confirm their identity.
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The Baza portal causes one of the passengers to be decapitated in the accident.
On Russian social networks, different versions of what happened are discussed. Channels close to Wagner say Prigozhin’s plane could have been shot down by Russian anti-aircraft guns.
Others claim the plane was bombed or shot down by an enemy attack drone.
In the video published by the digital newspaper Gazeta.ru, you can see how the device crashes to the ground not far from some rural houses, after which a strong explosion occurs.
“An investigation has been opened into the Embraer plane crash that happened this afternoon in the Tver region. According to the passenger list, among them are Yevgeny Prigozhin’s first and last name, civil aviation agency Rossaviatsia told local authorities.
The Wagner group is one a private army of mercenaries who fought alongside the Russian regular army in Ukraine before the military uprising they staged last June.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Putin, struck an agreement with Wagner’s boss Prigozhin to halt the movement of the group’s fighters into Russia. It was precisely that land that sheltered Prigozhin.
In a video circulating Thursday, Prigozhin said he was in Africa “making Russia even bigger on all continents and making Africa even freer.”
The Telegram channel of the Wagner group confirmed the death of Prigozhin. The executives who traveled on another plane are expected to speak out.
Right now, in the border area of Kursk, Russian President Vladimir Putin is taking part in an official ceremony to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Kursk, one of the most important of World War II between the Soviet and Nazi armies. (JO)
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