Mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was onboard a jet that crashed in Russia killing all 10 people on board, Russia’s civil aviation authority says.
Wagner’s mercenary group says 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.
In June, Prigozhin led an aborted mutiny against Russia’s armed forces.
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, northwest of the capital Moscow, comes on the same day that senior Russian general Sergei Surovikin was reportedly sacked as air force chief.
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.
Dmitry Utkin, Senior Wagner commander, who founded the group in 2014 was onboard, it said.
One report, though unconfirmed, said the body of Prigozhin, 62, was identified. All 10 bodies were recovered, 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 was 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.
The group has been active in Ukraine, Syria and West Africa, and has gained a reputation for brutality. Prigozhin led the mutiny in June, moving his troops from Ukraine. The stand-off seemed to have been settled by a deal that allowed Wagner troops to move to Belarus or join the Russian army.
Since the mutiny Wagner was described as a “dead man walking” by observers.
President Putin’s initial reaction to his challenge to Russia’s defence establishment was vitriolic, calling it a betrayal and a stab in the back in a video message on 24 June.
The deal did not mean he was safe.
“Revenge”, said Williams Burns CIA director, “is a dish Putin prefers served cold” – or words to that effect.
US President Joe Biden said he was “not surprised” by news of Prigozhin’s possible death.
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