TIRANA, August 24 – Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has been killed in a plane crash north of Moscow on Wednesday evening. Some 10 bodies have been recovered from the crash site, including seven passengers and three crew. One of those killed is believed to be Dmitry Utkin, Wagner’s co-founder, according to euronews.
Speculation is rife over the incident. Russian state media say the aircraft caught fire upon hitting the ground. But the Wagner-linked Telegram channel Grey Zone claims it was shot down by the Russian military. An investigation has begun into the cause of the crash.
Prigozhin led an abortive armed rebellion inside Russia earlier this year, marching on Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced it “treason” at the time.
In the meantime, AP reported on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his condolences to the families of the ten people who were aboard a jet, including Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, which crashed near Moscow on Wednesday evening.
Speaking at the Kremlin, Putin expressed his condolences to the families of the ten people aboard the jet, including mercenary head Yevgeny Prigozhin, who he described as a “talented man” with a “difficult destiny.”
Putin made the remarks on Thursday while speaking with the Russian-installed leader of Ukraine’s partially-occupied Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin, in a televised interview.
Putin also pledged to investigate the causes of the crash, which took place shortly after the plane took off from a Moscow airport, en route to St. Petersburg. /argumentum.al
