Report: Wagner Group Chief Among 10 Dead in Plane Crash

Authorities say Yevgeny Prigozhin's name was on passenger list in Russia crash
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 23, 2023 12:28 PM CDT
Updated Aug 23, 2023 1:16 PM CDT
Report: Wagner Leader Killed in Plane Crash
In this image taken from video released by Razgruzka_Vagnera telegram channel on Monday, Aug. 21, 2023, Yevgeny Prigozhin speaks to a camera at an unknown location.   (Razgruzka_Vagnera telegram channel via AP)

Two months after his failed mutiny against Russian military leadership, Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has reportedly been killed in a plane crash. The AP reports that Russian authorities say Prigozhin's name was on the passenger list of a Embraer business jet that crashed on Wednesday, though they haven't confirmed that he boarded the plane. Ten people, including three crew members, are dead, per officials. Russia's emergency ministry says the plane was going from Moscow to St. Petersburg, the Financial Times reports.

According to Russian state media, eight bodies have been recovered from the crash site in the Tver region. The cause of the crash is unclear, but Wagner-linked media channels suggested the plane had been shot down by a Russian missile, the Guardian reports. US officials tell the New York Times that while they can't confirm Prigozhin was on the plane, intelligence agencies have been predicting since the mutiny that Putin would take action against him. Russia-watchers called him a "dead man walking," per the BBC. (More Yevgeny Prigozhin stories.)

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